Bot at 19:29, 4 December 2022

2022-12-04T19:29:27Z

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{{Short description|Paramilitary in Sri Lanka}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{infobox military unit
| unit_name = Eagles of the Central Hills
| native_name = මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ උකුස්සෝ
| country = {{flagicon|Sri Lanka}} [[Sri Lanka]]
| allegiance = {{army|Sri Lanka}} (claimed)
| commander2_label =Founder
| commander2 = [[Ranasinghe Premadasa]]
| battles = [[1987–1989 JVP insurrection]]
* [[1989 Kandy massacre]]
* 1989 Peradeniya University attack
| equipment = [[Type 56 Assault Rifle]]s
}}

The '''Eagles of the Central Hills''', often referred to as '''Ukussa''' ({{lang-si|උකුස්සා}}, {{translation|The Hawk}}), was a state paramilitary in [[Sri Lanka]]. It was active in the [[1987–1989 JVP insurrection|1987–1989 JVP insurgency]]. <ref>{{Cite book|title=Sri Lanka: The Years of terror 1987-1989|author=C.A Chandraprema|year=2001|page=240}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Sri Lanka: Extrajudicial Executions, 'Disappearances' and Torture, 1987 to 1990 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] | date=September 1990 | location=United Kingdom | pages=29–30 | isbn=0862101867 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/200000/asa370211990eng.pdf | accessdate=12 August 2018}}</ref>

The Eagles of the Central Hills were made of police and army personnel who wanted more action against the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna|JVP]]. They demanded anti-communist action in Sri Lanka to resist the insurgents.<ref>{{Cite book|title=SRI LANKA: A LOST REVOLUTION?|page=293-296}}</ref>

==Kandy Massacre==
{{main|1989 Kandy massacre}}
In [[Kundasale]] on 13 September 1989, the JVP allegedly killed sixteen family members of three security forces personnel.<ref name=JVP>{{cite book|title=Sri Lanka, the years of terror: the J.V.P. insurrection, 1987-1989|author=Chandraprema, C. A.|publisher=Lakehouse Bookshop|date=1991|page=296|isbn=9789559029038}}</ref>

The following night, the Eagles set fire to a number of residential dwellings in [[Menikhinna]], killing approximately 52 people. The armed group then moved onto the villages of Kundasale and Aranagala, where they killed a further 30 people. Residents of Kandy found over 100 bodies floating in the river, and it was suspected that there were at least 50 additional deaths.{{fact|date=December 2022}}

==Peradeniya Massacre==
On 5 October, armed vigilantes shot or beheaded fourteen workers at a [[Peradeniya University]] residential complex for custodial and clerical staff. Police later received a message from the vigilantes, who called themselves the Eagles of the Central Hills, claiming responsibility for the murders and that the victims were JVP supporters who had engineered the murder of T. E. Nagahawatte, an assistant registrar at the university and a captain in the local army volunteer reserve force.<ref name=UPI>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/10/05/Vigilantes-kill-14-at-university-residential-complex/7696623563200/|title=Vigilantes kill 14 at university residential complex|last=Athas|first=Iqbal|work=United Press International|date=5 October 1989|accessdate=20 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913040203/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/10/05/Vigilantes-kill-14-at-university-residential-complex/7696623563200/|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Paramilitary organisations based in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Guerrilla organizations]]
[[Category:Anti-communist organizations]]
[[Category:1987–1989 JVP insurrection]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in Sri Lanka]]

{{Paramilitary-org-stub}}
[[Category:Military of Sri Lanka]]

Eagles of the Central Hills - Revision history

Bot at 19:29, 4 December 2022