The Prawn farm massacre, also known as the 1987 Kokkadichcholai massacre, took place on January 27, 1987 in the village of Kokkadichcholai, Sri Lanka. At least 83 people were killed. The Special Task Force, an elite special forces unit of the Sri Lanka Police specializing in counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations, was accused of having perpetrated the massacre. Asian Agricultural Products Limited (AAPL), the Hong Kong based part-owner of the farm filed for arbitration by ICSID, an arm of the World Bank, against the government of Sri Lanka; AAPL prevailed in the arbitration, eventually received payment and families of the victims were paid some monetary compensation. Background Serendib Seafoods Limited was a shrimp farming joint venture established in Sri Lanka about half owned by Sri Lankans. The remainder was held by AAPL, owned by an American, David Milton, as well as other American and European individuals. Serendib's farm was located on the East Coast of Sri Lanka near Batticaloa and its hatchery was in Negombo, near Colombo. As part of the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka, Serendib's farm, employing a large number of local workers, was attacked and destroyed. One of the prominent local partners was Sam Tambimuttu, a lawyer who became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1989. At the time of the attack it was assumed that Tamil militant groups (mainly LTTE, EPRLF, and EROS), were using the farm as a base for their activities. However, when the farm was raided by the Special Task Force (STF), any militants had fled the site. Only farm workers and local civilians who sought refuge remained. Attack Relatives of the victims said that on January 27, 1987 a number of helicopters circled the area. The STF entered the village from Vellaveli, Kondavedduvan, Kaluvanchikudi and Kallandy camps in trucks. At a nearby junction, a vehicle was parked and some STF officers exited the vehicle and walked into the prawn farm. The STF gathered up the farm employees, checked their identity cards and herded them onto a semi-trailer; they were taken to a road junction and shot dead. Seven of the victims were boys aged 12 to 14. Forty non-employees who had sought refuge in the farm were also shot and killed. The bodies were later burnt on piles of old tires obtained by the security forces from the town's bus depot. The relatives of the victims alleged that STF personnel invaded a