Comparison of Deaths due to Lethal Weapons During and After Civil Strife in Sri Lanka; A Medico-legal Analysis

Abstract

Attached

The death due to lethal weapons is a growing concerned issue in Sri Lanka. The objective of the study was to examine and compare the deaths caused by lethal weapons during and after civil strife. A cross-sectional study was conducted on deaths caused by lethal weapons over 10 years from May 2004 to May 2014. Periods before and after 19lh of May 2009 were considered as cut off point for “during” and "after" civil strife. A total of 3,100 Post-mortem reports were perused and 198 (6.3%) deaths due to lethal weapons were found and of them, 55% were during and 45% were after civil strife. Among them, 84% males, 68% married and 61% were unemployed. Deaths occurred outside home (55% of during and 70% of after), due to multiple assaults (74% of during and 57% of after) on head (40% of during and 25% o f after), with sharp weapons (59% o f during and 74% o f after), and these differences were statistically significant at p<0.05. The presence of many similarities indicated that both groups learnt basis in a society that breeds violence. After civil strife, deaths had a higher chance to occur outside homes with sharp weapons due to assault on chest and neck. It is better to review the number of existing firearms and explosives and provide the permission only for those who need. Non-explosive lethal weapon use after the civil strife needs to be further investigated in order to develop evidence based interventions