The remains of 572 people, including children and infants, have been unearthed during excavations at a mass grave in Chemmani, northern Sri Lanka, bringing renewed attention to the fate of thousands of people who disappeared during the country's decades-long civil war.

The human remains were first discovered last year during excavation work to expand a cremation site in the Chemmani area of Jaffna. Following the discovery, a court-ordered archaeological investigation was launched.

The third phase of the excavation was completed in August, with investigators recovering the skeletal remains of 572 individuals. Archaeologists also uncovered personal belongings believed to have belonged to the victims, including bracelets, school bags and baby feeding bottles, indicating that women and young children were among those buried at the site.

The Chemmani site is now regarded as the largest mass grave ever uncovered in Sri Lanka.

Civil war disappearances back in focus

Sri Lanka's civil war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lasted from 1983 to 2009, claiming an estimated 100,000 lives. Around 23,000 people, most of them ethnic Tamils, are still officially listed as missing.

The Chemmani area has long been linked to allegations of enforced disappearances. After the Jaffna Peninsula came under government control in 1995, the area was designated a high-security zone, and families of missing persons have for years accused security forces of carrying out unlawful killings and secret burials. Successive governments have denied the allegations.

The latest discoveries have renewed calls from victims' families for the truth to be established and those responsible to be held accountable.

DNA testing and forensic investigations

Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission said the burial patterns found at the site are inconsistent with traditional Hindu funeral practices and warrant a full investigation into the possibility of unlawful killings.

Human rights organizations have also pointed to the shallow graves and the condition of some of the remains as factors requiring an independent criminal investigation.

The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has pledged full cooperation with the investigation, saying DNA testing and comprehensive forensic examinations will be carried out to help identify the victims and determine the circumstances of their deaths.

The recovered remains are currently being preserved under court supervision at the University of Jaffna's Department of Forensic Medicine, while selected samples are expected to be sent to overseas laboratories for further scientific analysis. Investigators are also preparing an interim report to be submitted to the court as the inquiry continues.

Families of the missing and Tamil rights groups have welcomed the ongoing investigation but stressed that previous inquiries produced little accountability. They have called for the Chemmani investigation to be conducted independently, transparently and in line with international standards to establish the identities of the victims and uncover the truth behind one of Sri Lanka's darkest chapters.(ILKHA)