Events took place across Vavuniya district to mark Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes' Day - a day observed annually by the Tamil nation to remember the Tamil fighters who gave their lives in the liberation struggle. 

Braving heavy rains, hundreds of Tamil people gathered at Eechankulam Thuyilum Illam to mark the day. 

Remembrance events have taken place across Tamil Eelam and around the world today, to mark Maaveerar Naal or Great Heroes’ Day, paying tribute to the men and women who died in the independence struggle.

British MPs commemorated Maaveerar naal with messages of support for the Tamil people's pursuit of justice and self-determination, today, as thousands across the UK marked Great Heroes' Day

Dame Siobhain McDonagh, Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, extended her support for the continued pursuit of justice and self-determination and highlighted the importance of remembrance on this day. 

Preparations at Mulankaavil thuyilum illam, in Kilinochchi, have been completed ahead of Maaveerar Naal commemorations expected to take place later today. 

Across the thuyilum illam - resting place - red and yellow flags have been raised and a makeshift monument made up of the destroyed gravestones stands tall for people to offer their respects. 

Sri Lanka's intelligence officers are surveilling Tamil organisers at the Kanchikudiyaru thuyilum illam, in an attempt to intimidate Tamils remembering fallen cadres. 

Traders in Thenmarachchi, Jaffna, have closed their businesses today to mark Maaveerar Naal, joining the wider Tamil homeland in remembrance.

All trading establishments in Chavakachcheri, Kaithady and Kodikamam are closed today to observe Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes' Day - where the Tamil nation remembers the Tamil fighters who gave their lives for the liberation struggle. 

For years in the Tamil homeland, Maaveerar Naal commemorations were forced underground. Lamps were lit behind closed doors, portraits of the fallen hidden from the state and gatherings broken apart by armed soldiers. Not today.

The 71st birthday of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabhakaran was marked by local residents in Nallur, Jaffna, today. 

Pongal, sweets, cakes and coconut saplings were distributed outside a memorial shrine in Nallur that is dedicated to fallen LTTE cadres. 

Australian Greens Senator David Shoebridge delivered a statement in the Australian Senate on 25 November marking Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes' Day - describing it as “one of the most significant events in the Tamil calendar” and honouring those who gave their lives in the struggle for dignity, justice and human rights.