The Gal Oya riots or Gal Oya massacre were the first ethnic riots that targeted the minority Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon. The riots took place from June 11, 1956 and occurred over the next five days. Local majority Sinhalese colonists and employees of the Gal Oya Development Board commandeered government vehicles, dynamite and weapons and massacred minority Tamils. It is estimated that over 150 people lost their lives due in the violence. Although initially inactive, the police and army were eventually able to bring the situation under control.