The Sri Lankan civil war was a civil war fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the island, due to the continuous discrimination and violent persecution against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government.
Kilinochchi is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road some 100 km (62 mi) south-east of Jaffna. It was the administrative center and de facto capital of the LTTE until 2 January 2009, when troops of the Sri Lankan Army recaptured the city.
The Battle of Mullaitivu, also known as the First Battle of Mullaitivu and codenamed Operation Unceasing Waves-1, was a battle between the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan military during the Sri Lankan Civil War for control of the military base in Mullaitivu in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
The Second Battle of Elephant Pass, was fought in April 2000 for the control of the Sri Lankan military base in Elephant Pass, Jaffna.
The Battle of Pooneryn took place between the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan military during the Sri Lankan Civil War for control of the military base in Pooneryn in northern Sri Lanka from 11 November to 14 November 1993.
The Northern Theatre of Eelam War IV refers to the fighting that took place in the northern province of Sri Lanka between July 2006 and May 18, 2009.
Operation Riviresa, was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Jaffna. Starting on 17 October 1995, the primary objective of the operation was the capture of the city of Jaffna and rest of the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. It is believed that Operation Riviresa was the largest and most successful military operation in Sri Lankan Armed Forces during the Third Eelam War.
Operation Balavegaya was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan military in Jaffna, the largest amphibious assault in its history. Operation Balavegaya was launched in response to the siege of Elephant Pass by the LTTE. It is believed that Operation Balavegaya was the largest and most successful military operation of the Sri Lankan military until Operation Riviresa in 1995.
The 2008–2009 SLA Northern offensive was an armed conflict in the northern Province of Sri Lanka between the military of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The battle began with a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) offensive attempting to break through the LTTE defence lines in the north of the island, aiming to conclude the country's 25-year-old civil war by military victory.
Velayuthapillai Baheerathakumar was a leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka. He played a leading role in the LTTE's military victories in the Vanni during Eelam War III, including Mullaitivu (1996), Kilinochchi (1998), Oddusuddan (1999) and Elephant Pass (2000). He was killed at the Battle of Ananthapuram in the last days of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
The Jeyanthan Regiment was an elite infantry formation of the LTTE. It was founded on 3 May 1993 and was initially trained under the leadership of Colonel Karuna Amman. It was the second oldest and most feared infantry unit of the Tamil Tigers. According to LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces feared the Jeyanthan Brigade the most and sought to avoid direct clashes with them. The soldiers in the unit all hailed from villages in the Eastern Province. Unlike the Charles Anthony Brigade which was only deployed in the North, the Jeyanthan Brigade was deployed in the East as well as the North and played an important role during Second Battle of Elephant Pass. The regiment was named after the LTTE's first Eastern Sea Black Tiger, Captain Jeyanthan, who destroyed a Sri Lankan Naval Patrol Vessel off the coast of Point Pedro on 4 May 1991. Prabhakaran inaugurated the unit on the 2nd death anniversary of Captain Jeyanthan in 1993.
The 57 Division is a division of the Sri Lanka Army. A principal offensive division it was deployed for combat operations in the Wanni region in 2009.
The Battle of Kilinochchi was a land battle fought between the Sri Lankan Military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for control of the town of Kilinochchi in the Northern Theatre of Eelam War IV during the Sri Lankan civil war between November 2008 and January 2009. The town of Kilinochchi was the administrative center and de facto capital of the LTTE's proposed state of Tamil Eelam.
Major General Nandana Udawatta, RSP, USP, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan general. He has served as the Master General Ordnance, Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna, Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaittivu and was the general officer commanding, 59 Division during the SLA offensives in the Wanni region during 2008 - 2009 period that led to a major victory for the SLA over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Sri Lankan civil war.
The Battle of Aanandapuram was a land battle fought between the Sri Lankan Military, 58 Division, 53 Division and Task Force 8 and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the control of the last stronghold held by the LTTE. This battle is a part of the Northern Theatre of Eelam War IV during the Sri Lankan civil war. The battle was fought in the Aanandapuram area of Puthukkudiyirippu AGA Sri Lanka.
General Shavendra Silva, is a Sri Lanka Army four star general who is the current Chief of Defence Staff, the head of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces serving from 1 January 2020. He also served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 19 August 2019 to 31 May 2022. His other important appointments include, Chief of Staff of the army, Adjutant General and Director of Operations of the Army. During the Sri Lankan civil war he gained fame as the General Officer Commanding of the elite 58 Division. He had also served as the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Headquarters.
Divisions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam refers to the military, intelligence and overseas divisions the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Most of these divisions were destroyed during the Eelam War IV, and only parts of the intelligence and financing divisions remain overseas.
General L. D. E. Cecil Waidyaratne, VSV, USP was a Sri Lanka Army general. He was 12th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.
The Battle of Weli Oya, took place between the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lanka Army during the Sri Lankan Civil War for control of the military bases in Weli Oya in northern Sri Lanka on 28 July 1995.
Operation Sath Jaya was the military offensive carried out by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in July to September 1996 to recapture the town of Kilinochchi from the LTTE. The army launched the offensive from its base in Elephant Pass in June in response to Battle of Mullaitivu in which the 25 Brigade of the army was overrun at its base in the town of Mullaitivu resulting in the deaths of over 2,000 Sri Lankan Armed Forces personal. Units of the Sri Lanka Army fought its way south from Elephant Pass along the A9 highway to Kilinochchi which it was able to recapture in September. The LTTE recaptured Kilinochchi in late September 1998.
