 On 5 September 1990, by about 9 o'clock in the morning, soldiers from Kommathurai army camp, along with personnel from some other army camps, arrived in a government owned bus and entered the premises of the Eastern University.This was followed by an announcement using an amplifier fitted to a white colored Van asking the refugees to form into three different queues; people aged 12 to 25 in the first row, people aged 26 to 40 in the second row, and persons over 40 years of age in the third row.People in the three queues were asked to pass through a point where five people clad in masks and army uniforms were seated in chairs along with seven Muslims, standing behind the masked people.