This report documents 43 cases of “disappearance” reported from the northeast of Sri Lanka from mid-1987 to early 1990, the period when the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) was deployed. The IPKF were opposed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the largest separatist group in the area. During this time, IPKF soldiers were accused of human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killings and “disappearances”; thousands of prisoners were held outside the provisions of either Sri Lankan or Indian law. The large majority of these cases were reported from Jaffna District during and immediately after the IPKF October 1987 offensive against LTTE strongholds in the area.
