Allegations of chemical weapon use in the Sri Lankan civil war

Chemical weapons were reported to have been used by the Sri Lankan military and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Usage by the Sri Lankan military

Interview of an army officer

The 2014 documentary This Land Belongs to the Army aired an interview with a Sri Lankan soldier who confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the Sri Lanka Army in the final phase of the war. In this footage the Sri Lankan soldier points to a "chemical weapon", calling it "a very potent weapon" and describes in detail how it works. He further states: "When it hits the grounds it disintegrates into several pieces. The chemical in this burns the skin immediately, We used this in the last stages of the war." The documentary also broadcast images from the war which showed victims of these attacks suffering from chemical burns, and interviewed the wife of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who disappeared after reporting on the army's usage of chemical weapons. The Indian news channel NewsX first broadcast the footage from the documentary.

Other accusations

The LTTE has accused the Sri Lankan military of obtaining and using chemical weapons against its combatants and Tamil civilians. In 2001 the LTTE claimed that the government had obtained banned chemical weapons, and warned of "dangerous consequences" should they be deployed on the battlefield. The accusation was made in relation to the government's purchase of RPO-A Shmel Thermobaric rocket launchers, which are neither banned nor are chemical weapons. The pro-LTTE politician Joseph Pararajasingham also referred to these as banned chemical weapons solely intended to annihilate the Tamil people.