Bodies of Tamil fishermen massacred by the Sri Lankan Navy while the men were at work in Palk Strait. These are the victims of more than 100 massacres carried out by either the Sri Lankan security forces or the Tamil resistance.

　　The bodies of Tamil fishermen who were engaged in fishing in the Palk Strait and were massacred by the Sri Lankan Navy. These are victims of over 100 massacres carried out by either Sri Lankan security forces or Tamil resistance groups. Tamils constitute 12.7% of Sri Lanka's population, and the main guerrilla organization, the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), emerged from the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).

　　The Palk Strait, between India's Tamil Nadu state and Sri Lanka's northern Mannar district, became a frequent site of massacres and violent incidents involving Tamil fishermen throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009), continuing until 2025. During the Sri Lankan civil war, massacres of Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan security forces exceeded 100 incidents. The estimated death toll of Tamil civilians, up to the 2009 Murivaiyakal massacre, ranged from 40,000 to over 100,000.

　　The Mandayiv Sea Massacre (June 10, 1986) was part of the larger Parak Strait Massacre. Sri Lankan naval soldiers attacked 33 Tamil fishermen off Mandayiv, torturing many victims by gouging out their eyeballs or slashing their abdomens. Thirty-two died, with only one survivor. In the Kumdini Massacre (May 15, 1985), at least 23 Sri Lankan Tamils aboard the ferry Kumdini were hacked to death by Sri Lankan Navy soldiers while sailing between Delft Island and Nainativu Island. The Jaffna Lagoon/Killari Massacre (January 2, 1993) saw between 35 and 100 Tamil civilians killed in an attack by the Sri Lankan Navy. The Murativi Fishermen Massacre (December 9, 1984) resulted in the killing of 18 Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Home Guard.