Sri Lankan soldiers practise riot drill against protestors at Mullaitivu base
The Sri Lankan military carried out an exercise where troops dispersed protestors, at the army’s Battalion Training School (BTS) at Puthukkuddiyirippu last month.
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Soldiers, carrying rifles and dressed in riot gear, were seen carrying out exercises against a mock protest group who were holding placards.
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The exercise saw the troops march towards the protestors, carrying a sign which warns that “if you cross the white line we will shoot you”.
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The latest exercise comes amidst political turmoil in Colombo and as several Tamil protests continue in the North-East. Recent years have seen a rise in Tamil protest, including locals who have called for the release of military occupied land and families of the disappeared calling for action on enforced disappearances.
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The Sri Lankan military continues to station tens of thousands of soldiers across the North-East, with the Mullaitivu district alone seeing as much as 1 soldier for every two civilians according to a report published by the Jaffna-based think tank, the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Reasearch.
