History
Following the start of Sri Lankan civil war many villages were attacked by LTTE terrorists which resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Due to these attacks the villagers began to organize themselves to protect themselves. The original Home Guards were local volunteers, who were initially armed with shotguns by the government to protect themselves.
In 1986 the Home Guard Service was created by the then Minister of National Security the late Hon. Lalith Athulathmudali with a strength of about 5000 personnel. They were issued uniforms and weapons (mostly Shotguns) and were under the command of the local Sri Lankan Police units. In 1988 female guardswomen were joined to the force. Since 1993 they have been issued with automatic rifles. In April 2006 the Home Guard was renamed as the Civil Security Force followed by the establishment of the Department of Civil Security on 1 January 2007. Since its consumption its members have been deployed outside their home villages to maintain public security even in Colombo.
Read more about this topic: Home Guard (Sri Lanka)
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