30 Oct 1995: Jaffna exodus as Tamils flee for Vanni ahead of SL military advance
30 October 2014
On October 30, 1995, half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna, ahead of a major military offensive by the Sri Lankan government led by Chandrika Kumaratunga, in what became known as the Jaffna Exodus.
The entire town of Jaffna, the largest Tamil population centre in Sri Lanka, streamed out in a mass exodus for the safety of Vanni, which was then controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
