In January 2020, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that those disappeared during the war were claiming "The unfortunate truth is that these people had died during the battles. Even in the security forces there are about 4,000 personnel listed as missing. But in reality these people had died during the fights, but their bodies had not been recovered" but promised a proper internal investigations and death certificates. During the numerous conflicts in Sri Lanka it is estimated over 20,000 had disappeared in Sri Lanka and the President's statement was heavily criticized by Human RIghts organisations