This phase of the war soon acquired the name '' Eelam War II '' , and featured unprecedented brutality . On 11 June 1990 the LTTE massacred 600 policemen in the Eastern Province after they had surrendered on promises of safe-conduct . The government placed an embargo on food and medicine entering the Jaffna peninsula and the air force relentlessly bombed LTTE targets in the area . The LTTE responded by attacking Sinhalese and Muslim villages and massacring civilians . One of the largest civilian massacres of the war occurred when the LTTE massacred 166 Muslim civilians at Palliyagodella . The government trained and armed Home Guard Muslim units , then took revenge on Tamil villages . There was also a significant massacre of Tamil civilians attributed to government forces , especially in the Eastern Province
massacred 166 Muslim civilians at Palliyagodella
Palliyagodella massacre
Sri Lankan Civil War