Ananthapuram ( ta, ஆனந்தபுரம்) is a village in north-eastern
Sri Lanka. It is located approximately north east of the town of
Puthukkudiyiruppu and is by the
A35 Paranthan-Mullaitivu highway. The village is one of nine in the Ananthapuram GN Division (Village Officer Division).
Eastern
Mullaitivu District
Mullaitivu District ( ta, முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம் ''Mullaittīvu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මුලතිවු දිස්ත්රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ad ...
including Ananthapuram witnessed particularly brutal fighting between the
Sri Lankan military and the rebel
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
in the final months of the
Sri Lankan Civil War in early 2009. The
Battle of Aanandapuram
The Battle of Aanandapuram was a land battle fought between the Military of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Military, 58 Division (Sri Lanka), 58 Division, 53 Division (Sri Lanka), 53 Division and Task Force 8 (Sri Lanka), Task Force 8 and the Liberatio ...
, one of the last major battles in civil war was fought at Ananthapuram. A
United Nations report found that as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months of the civil war, mostly as a result of indiscriminate shelling by the Sri Lankan military. There are widespread allegations that both sides committed atrocities and human rights violations including
war crimes.
After the end of the war in May 2009 the residents of the village, along with most of Mullaitivu District, were held by the Sri Lankan military
internment camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
in
Vavuniya District
Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municipality is administered by Va ...
. Much of eastern Mullaitivu District including Ananthapuram were declared as High Security Zone and were out of bounds to the public. This meant that when the census took place in March 2012 there were only three residents in Ananthapuram GN Division. Resettlement in the GN Division began in September 2012 and by February 2013 the population was 735. However, many of Ananthapuram's residents weren't resettled in their own homes but in newly cleared areas of jungles.
References
Villages in Mullaitivu District
Puthukkudiyiruppu DS Division
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