Chemmani Excavation: Detailed Update, June to November 2026 Diaspora Action Brief | Prepared 7 November 2026 | Sources linked as web addresses throughout 1. Summary Between June and early November 2026 the court-supervised excavation at the Chemmani (Siththupaththi) site in Jaffna moved from a rapidly growing recovery count to a contested legal and political phase. Reported totals rose from 351 exhumed individuals in mid-June to 583 sets of remains by the close of the latest phase of work. On 19 October the lead archaeologist's third interim report was submitted to the Jaffna Magistrate's Court, recording a minimum of 574 individuals while stating that the evidence is insufficient to determine how or why they died. The report's suggestion that the site resembles formal burial practices, and might reflect an epidemic or natural catastrophe, has been rejected by families of the disappeared and challenged by their lawyers. A court sitting on 19 November and a protest at th...