Between May and June 2025, the Sri Lankan military intensified its presence in the Tamil homeland through environmental projects, medical camps, and even a sports tournaments in Mannar. Marketed as religious festivals, humanitarian aid, and school donations, these activities - conducted by units implicated in past war crimes - serve to entrench Sinhalese dominance and normalise military occupation in the everyday life of Tamil civilians.
Jaffna
On 29 May 2025, troops of the 51 Infantry Division conducted a school bag donation programme for 40 students at Palaly North GTM School. The programme was led by Major General M.P.N.A. Muthumala, General Officer Commanding the 51 Infantry Division, with assistance from the 9 (V) Sri Lanka Light Infantry.
On 2 June 2025, troops from the 17 Gemunu Watch, under the 512 Infantry Brigade, distributed educational supplies to 23 children at Sanmugan Pre-School in Pumpugar, Ariyalai, Jaffna. The programme was guided by Major General M.P.N.A. Muthumala, General Officer Commanding of the 51 Division, supervised by the 512 Brigade Commander, and sponsored by the CHESENUT Foundation.
On 5 June 2025, troops from the 17th Battalion, Gamunu Watch, conducted a blood donation programme to honour soldiers who were killed during the Mullivaikkal genocide - events the military described as "humanitarian operations". Participants included personnel from the 512 Infantry Brigade, 17th Gamunu Watch, and 14th Gajaba Regiment. The event took place under the guidance of Major General M.P.N.A. Muthumala, General Officer Commanding 51 Infantry Division, and the supervision of the Commander, 512 Brigade, in collaboration with the Teaching Hospital Jaffna.
The same hospital where over 70 civilians, including medical staff, were massacred by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in October 1987. Furthermore, under the command of Channa D. Weerasuriya, the 512 Infantry Brigade in Jaffna was implicated in the detention and torture of Tamil suspects, as documented by interviews conducted by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP). Despite the government declaring the end of the armed conflict, ITJP witnesses reported repeated torture at the camp in 2010 and 2011, which was also operated as a hub for military intelligence operations targeting former Tamil cadres. Throughout this period, the 512 Infantry Brigade remained a centre of grave human rights abuses.
On 5 and 9 June 2025, the Sri Lanka Navy, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Coast Guard and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, conducted a life-saving skills training at SLNS Elara, Naval Detachment Myliddy, and Point Pedro. Medical personnel from the Northern Naval Command facilitated training on "first aid, Basic Life Support (BLS), field triage, mental health awareness, addiction prevention, and pre-screening for non-communicable diseases". Fishermen from Munnei, Kottadi, Myliddy, Palaly, Kayts, Gurunagar, Thailiddy, Karainagar, and Velankanni Fisheries Society participated.
On 11 June 2025, Sri Lanka Navy command personnel participated in blood donation campaigns, including at the Naval Hospital of SLNS Kanchadeva in Kayts, conducted in partnership with the Teaching Hospital in Jaffna.
Kilinochchi
On 11 June 2025, troops of 1 Corps organised a school supplies donation at Thiruvalluvar Vidyalayam in Kilinochchi, targeting children from low-income families. The event was officiated by Major General W.M.P.M. Wijesooriya, Commander of 1 Corps, with senior military officers and the Kilinochchi Zonal Education Director participating.
Mullaitivu
On 30 May 2025, the Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police Seva Vanitha Branch (SLCMP-SVB), led by Chairperson Mrs. Iresha Perera and in coordination with the Officer Commanding Troops in Mullaitivu, conducted a donation programme at the Children’s Home in Puthukkudiyiruppu. The event provided lunch, daily items, and an "entertainment session". Major General U.L.J.S. Perera, Military Secretary of the Sri Lanka Army and Colonel Commandant of the SLCMP participated.
Puthukkudiyiruppu was the last major stronghold held by the LTTE during the final phase of the 2009 genocide. Despite determined resistance, the Sri Lankan military’s 53 Division, Task Force-8, and 58 Division broke through LTTE defences, inflicting heavy military and civilian casualties.
On 9 June 2025, troops of the 59 Infantry Division, led by Major General D.R.N. Hettiarachchi, distributed food and drinks at the Vattappalai Kannaki Amman Temple in Mullaitivu. Meanwhile, from 6 to 10 June 2025, the division operated a medical camp providing healthcare to festival participants.
During the 2009 genocide, the 59 Infantry Division was implicated in serious human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, as documented by Human Rights Watch and other international human rights organisations. Additionally, a United Nations OHCHR investigation implicated the division in the shelling of hospitals in the south of Mullaitivu.
Vavuniya
On 31 May 2025, SF–SVB, led by Chairperson Hansika Mahalekam and in coordination with 3 SF, conducted a donation event at Viru Muthu Pre-School in Mahamailakulam, Madukanda, Vavuniya. The event involved distributing school bags, umbrellas, water bottles, and stationery and hosting "entertainment" targeting children in a remote Tamil area.
Batticaloa
On 31 May 2025, SLCMP–SVB, led by Chairperson Mrs. Iresha Perera and in collaboration with the 4 SLCMP, conducted a donation programme at St. Luke’s Elder’s Home in Puttur. The initiative involved distributing wheelchairs and mattresses to residents. Major General U.L.J.S. Perera, Military Secretary of the Sri Lanka Army and Colonel Commandant of SLCMP, alongside senior officers and personnel, participated in the event.
On 30 May 2025, the Sri Lanka Navy carried out a renovation school project at Laafir Vidyalayam in Kalmunai, under the “A School Full of Happiness”, part of the broader "Clean Sri Lanka" campaign. Supervised by the Commander of the Southeastern Naval Area, this programme exemplifies the military's persisting infiltration into educational institutions and its strategic use of social initiatives to entrench influence in Tamil regions.
Trincomalee
On 26 May 2025, the 20th Battalion of the Gajaba Regiment, under the 221 Infantry Brigade, guided by Major General P. R. Pathiravithana, conducted a blood donation programme at its base in Trincomalee, collecting 90 units with support from the Cluster Blood Bank. Participants included soldiers from the 1st Battalion Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment, sailors from Sri Lanka Navy Ship Ranweli, and civilian staff.
This event follows similar campaigns of September 2024 North-East blood donation by the 56 Infantry Division in Vavuniya. Though framed as humanitarian, these programmes have only deepened distrust in the Tamil community. In 2014, Major General Hathurusinghe claimed that Tamils could no longer call themselves "pure" due to the presence of Sinhalese blood - an insidious attempt to assert ethnic dominance under the guise of medical aid. Again, in 2018, the Northern Province governor stated that Sinhalese soldiers' blood flows in Tamils treated at Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Such campaigns instead function as symbolic assertions of military and ethnic control in the Tamil homeland.
On 2 June 2025, the Sri Lanka Navy conducted a seabed clean-up near Pigeon Island off the Trincomalee coast, targeting the coral ecosystem as part of the “Clean Sri Lanka” project. The operation involved Navy divers removing debris and pollutants.
Although marketed as a conservation effort to protect marine biodiversity and promote coastal tourism, the initiative enables the military to entrench itself within the ecological spheres in Tamil-majority areas.
On 8 June 2025, the 20th Battalion Gajaba Regiment conducted a cleaning programme at the Girihandu Seya Buddhist temple premises in Thiriyai, established on seized agricultural territory belonging to the Tamil people. The temple has expanded its landholdings to 3,600 acres, displacing local Tamil farmers by repurposing historically cultivated farmland into religious property. This land appropriation, backed by government directives, reflects a systematic, state-led process of Sinhalisation and Buddhisation of Tamil ancestral lands.
On 10 June 2025, troops of the 221 Infantry Brigade, guided by Colonel E.W.R.S.B. Ehelepola, celebrate Poson Poya Day Buddhist festival by distributing meals at Gokanna Rajamaha Viharaya, Fort Fredrick, Trincomalee.
From 4 to 5 June 2025, the Sri Lanka Navy carried out environmental programmes across its Northern and Eastern Commands. In the East, SLNS Perakumba partnered with the Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat and local police to plant coconut saplings in Sudeikuda, Muttur. In the North, SLNS Uththara partnered with Link Natural Products and personnel from multiple bases planted coconut and cashew saplings on islands including Mandaitivu, Kayts, and Delft. This reflects the Navy’s strategic use of environmental projects to normalise its presence and expand territorial control in the Tamil homeland.
The area is infamous for the 2006 Muttur Massacre, when 17 predominantly Tamil staff of the French NGO Action la Contre Faim (ACF) were executed at close range by government forces.
Mannar
On 4 June 2025, under the "guidance" of Major General K.M.P.S.B. Kulatunga, Commander of Security Forces (Vanni), with direction from the General Officer Commanding 54 Division and supervision by the Commander of 541 Brigade, the ‘Security Forces (Vanni) Commander Challenge Trophy Volleyball – 2025’ concluded at Mannar Urban Council Indoor Stadium. Teams from five Mannar District Divisional Secretariats and two from the 54 Division competed. Additionally, an exhibition match between Mannar District and Army Women’s Volleyball Teams took place.
The Sri Lanka Army's 54 Infantry Division is known to have committed major war crimes and human rights violations in the Mannar District during the last stages of the 2009 genocide. Tamil survivors have reported torture and sexual violence in detention centres and military camps operated under the Division’s command.
On 7 June 2025, the 54 Infantry Division, in partnership with the Adampan Medical Officer of Health Office, conducted a community medical clinic at Vellankulam Government Tamil Mixed School, in Manthai West. The clinic provided healthcare services, including general consultations, eye care, dental treatment, mental health support, nutritional counselling, and blood tests—to approximately 125 families from surrounding villages. This operation was led by Major General A.M.C.P. Wijerathna, General Officer Commanding, of the Division, and supervised by the Commander of the 541 Infantry Brigade.
From 10 to 12 June 2025, the 54 Infantry Division, led by Major General A.M.C.P. Wijayaratne, organised the Poson Poya celebration at Thalladi Junction in Mannar, featuring religious exhibits, music entertainment and meal distribution.
