Two headless human skeletons have been unearthed at the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna over a 48-hour period, taking the total number of identified remains to 539 by Tuesday.
The two skeletons formed part of fifteen newly located sets of bones discovered at the site, which is recognised as the largest recorded mass grave in Sri Lanka.
The exhumation team is being led by archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva and Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Selliah Piranavan, which has now retrieved 524 distinct sets of remains since the operation began.
The discovery of the two skeletons beyond the originally mapped perimeter has raised concerns that the burial zone may extend over a wider area than first believed.
Attorney Ranitha Gnanarajah, who is monitoring the site on behalf of the families of missing persons, said that the remains of five infants had also been identified during Tuesday’s excavation work.