Eagles of the Central Hills

The Eagles of the Central Hills, often referred to as Ukussa (Sinhala: උකුස්සා, transl. The Hawk), was a state paramilitary in Sri Lanka. It was active in the 1987–1989 JVP insurgency.[1][2]

Eagles of the Central Hills
මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ උකුස්සෝ
CountrySri Lanka Sri Lanka
Allegiance Sri Lanka Army (claimed)
EquipmentType 56 Assault Rifles
Engagements1987–1989 JVP insurrection
Commanders
FounderRanasinghe Premadasa

The Eagles of the Central Hills were made of police and military personnel and was led by the president at the time Ranasinghe Premadasa. They wanted more action against the JVP and demanded anti-socialist action in Sri Lanka to resist the insurgents.[3]

Kandy Massacre
Main article: 1989 Kandy massacre

In Kundasale on 13 September 1989, the JVP allegedly killed sixteen family members of three security forces personnel.[4]

The following night, the Eagles set fire to a number of residential dwellings in Menikhinna, killing approximately 52 people. The armed group then moved onto the villages of Kundasale and Aranagala, where they killed a further 30 people. Residents of Kandy found over 100 bodies floating in the river, and it was suspected that there were at least 50 additional deaths.Tolling up to 250+ murders and 50+ disappearances.

Peradeniya Massacre

On 5 October, armed vigilantes shot or beheaded fourteen workers at a Peradeniya University residential complex for custodial and clerical staff. Police later received a message from the vigilantes, who called themselves the Eagles of the Central Hills, claiming responsibility for the murders and that the victims were JVP supporters who had allegedly engineered the murder of T. E. Nagahawatte, an assistant registrar at the university and a captain in the local army volunteer reserve force.[5]

References
  1. C.A Chandraprema (2001). Sri Lanka: The Years of terror 1987-1989. p. 240.
  2. Sri Lanka: Extrajudicial Executions, 'Disappearances' and Torture, 1987 to 1990 (PDF). United Kingdom: Amnesty International. September 1990. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0862101867. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  3. SRI LANKA: A LOST REVOLUTION?. pp. 293–296.
  4. Chandraprema, C. A. (1991). Sri Lanka, the years of terror: the J.V.P. insurrection, 1987-1989. Lakehouse Bookshop. p. 296. ISBN 9789559029038.
  5. Athas, Iqbal (5 October 1989). "Vigilantes kill 14 at university residential complex". United Press International. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.


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