The first phase of excavation activities at the mass grave in Sri Lanka’s main commercial port premises have come to a halt.
At least two skeletons had been unearthed after eight days of digging at the second mass burial site discovered in the country within a period of two years.
When the Colombo Port mass grave excavations, which commenced on 5 September were suspended at noon on September 13, at least four human skulls could be seen in the grave site.
Construction workers stumbled upon the mass grave in the Colombo Port's old secretariat premises, located in a high-security zone in the capital. The skull was missing in one of the unearthed skeletons. Investigators involved in the excavations had informed that excavations would resume on 25 September.
They added that the skeletal fragments unearthed by the excavation are currently stored at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer's (JMO) office.
The investigations into the mass grave are being led by Consultant JMO Dr. Sunil Hewage and Forensic Archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva.
Human skeletal remains had first been found at the Colombo Port's old Secretariat premises on 13 July. This had occurred during the groundwork conducted for the purpose of building the new expressway running towards the Colombo Port.
Excavation work commenced on 5 September, in the presence of Colombo Chief Magistrate Bandara Ilangasinghe.
After unearthing the skeletal remains of 50 persons from the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave, it was closed on 15 July as per court orders. This mass grave was accidentally found in June, 2023, around 200 metres from the Kokkuthoduvai Central College, Mullaitivu, towards Kokilai.
The expert report submitted to court concluded that the unearthed remains belonged to Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) members killed by shooting and unceremoniously buried in the mid 90s. This was during the height of the civil war.
