This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.(August 2010) |
Battle of Mullaitivu | |||||||||
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Part of the Sri Lankan Civil War, 2008–2009 SLA Northern offensive | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Tamil Tigers | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Sarath Fonseka: Nandana Udawatta Laksiri Waduge | Velupillai Prabhakaran | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Sri Lanka Army: 59 Division: > 7,000 [1] 593 Brigade 7 Gemunu Watch | Unknown | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Mullaitivu was a land battle fought between the Sri Lankan Military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the control of the town of Mullaitivu in the Northern Theatre of Eelam War IV during the Sri Lankan civil war. The town of Mullaitivu was the last stronghold of the LTTE. The government declared on 25 January 2009 that its troops had entered the town and were consolidating their positions. [2]
The Sri Lanka Air Force had been attacking LTTE positions in and around Mullaitivu for several days before the government troops claimed to have entered it. [3] After the Battle of Kilinochchi (23 November 2008 – 2 January 2009), during which the Sri Lankan military captured the LTTE stronghold of Kilinochchi, the Ministry of Defence had stated that the military's next target was Mullaitivu. [4] Leaflets had been dropped by the Sri Lanka Air Force earlier over the town, urging civilians to come to government controlled "safe zones". [5] The government also suspended all civil administration work on 23 January to allow public servants to leave the area. [6] The army had allowed a 32 kilometres (20 mi) "safe area" inside the war zone for civilians to exit. Independent aid agencies report about 230,000 civilians were inside the war zone around the northern city. [7]
The LTTE captured the Mullaitivu military base and town in 1996, following a battle which resulted in at least 1639 soldiers being killed or missing. [8] The LTTE used the town as their main military base since then. [9] A large base of the Sea Tigers was also located in Mullaitivu. [10]
Mullaitivu had been a main target of the Sri Lankan military offensive in the Northern Theatre of Eelam War IV. [11]
Before the battle, public offices in Mullaittivu were closed for the weekend and government employees had moved out of the city ahead of the impending military action on 25 January. Civilians from Mullaittivu were also seen moving towards the north into the jungle areas where the LTTE guerrillas had retreated. [12] On 24 January 2009, the LTTE had blown up a dam near the town which flooded the surrounding areas. LTTE fighters also built earth barriers, which made it difficult for the army to approach with heavy tanks. [12]
Infantrymen of the Sri Lankan army's 7th Gemunu Watch first entered the town after facing fierce resistance from the LTTE. [13] The ground forces were backed by helicopter gunships of the Sri Lankan Air Force. Sri Lankan troops also moved in with a small group of boats from the western side of Mullaittivu. [12] Later, the 59th Division was involved in the consolidating the captured town. [13] Some LTTE fighters were later reported to be hiding in a small area between Vishwamadhu and Puthukkudiyiruppu. [13]
With the fall of Mullaitivu, the LTTE lost approximately 95 percent of the land they had once controlled. [14] Sarath Fonseka, the commander of the Sri Lanka Army, then requested the public to celebrate the victory with dignity by hoisting the national flag. [15] Before the town was captured, the Sri Lankan army seized two nearby facilities used for making bombs and landmines that reportedly contained 4,000 detonators and 150 kg of explosives. [7] The Sri Lankan army continued to target LTTE positions after the capture of Mullaitivu, and attacked remaining LTTE positions inside jungles. [16]
LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was said to be hiding in the last jungle areas held. However, the Sri Lankan government was never certain of the exact location.[ needs update ] [17] His body was found floating in a mangrove swamp after all resistance had ended. India and Malaysia had also taken steps to prevent Prabhakaran from entering their territories. Prabhakaran was wanted in India for the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. [12]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the northeast of the island in response to violent persecution and discriminatory policies against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan Government.
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.
Velupillai Prabhakaran was a Sri Lankan revolutionary. Prabhakaran was a major figure of Tamil nationalism, and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE was a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka in reaction to the oppression of the country's Tamil population by the Sri Lankan government. Under his direction, the LTTE undertook a military campaign against the Sri Lankan government for more than 25 years.
The Sea Tigers was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but effective suicide bomber vessels. During its existence it had gained a reputation as a capable adversary for the Sri Lankan Navy. During the civil war, the Sea Tigers had sunk at least 29 Sri Lankan small inshore patrol boats, 20 Dvora-class fast patrol boats, 3 gunboats, 2 Large surveillance command ships, and one freighter.
The Tamil Eelam Air Force or Sky Tigers was the air service branch of the Divisions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who used it against the Government of Sri Lanka. They also called themselves the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF). Though the existence of the Sky Tigers had been the subject of speculation for many years, the existence of the wing was only revealed after an attack in March 2007, during Eelam War IV.
Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth and final phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets bombed several LTTE camps around Mavil Aru anicut. The government's casus belli was that the LTTE had cut off the water supply to surrounding paddy fields in the area. Shutting down the sluice gates of the Mavil Aru on July 21 depriving the water to over 15,000 people - Sinhalese and Muslim settlers under Sri Lankan state-sponsored colonisation schemes in Trincomalee district. They were denied of water for drinking and also cultivating over 30,000 acres of paddy and other crops. The fighting resumed after a four-year ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and LTTE. Continued fighting led to several territorial gains for the Sri Lankan Army, including the capture of Sampur, Vakarai and other parts of the east. The war took on an added dimension when the LTTE Air Tigers bombed Katunayake airbase on March 26, 2007, the first rebel air attack without external assistance in history.
The Eastern Theatre of Eelam War IV started in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka on July 21, 2006, when the LTTE cut off the water supply to rice fields in eastern Trincomalee district. The government claimed total control of the Eastern province after capturing Thoppigala on July 11, 2007, after nearly a year of fighting. Major battles took place at Sampoor, Vakarai, Kanchikudicharu, Kokkadichloai and Thoppigala. Military and civilian deaths were relatively low on both sides. Government forces captured much military hardware from the LTTE during the conflict. The civilians managed to flee the combat zones, and this reduced civilian casualties, while swelling the number of internally displaced people (IDP). The world health organization (WHO) estimated ~200,300 IDPs, and claims that significant progress occurred in resettling them. The LTTE vowed to attack Sri Lanka's military and economic targets across the country to retaliate for the capture of the Eastern province from them. This was stated by the leader of the LTTE's political wing, S.P. Thamilchelvan, in a statement to Associated Press on July 12, 2007.
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 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.
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.
Operation Jayasikurui, was a Sri Lankan military operation launched on 13 May 1997, it lasted until 1999, when it was called off. The operation was initially launched for 6 months but cancelled after 18 months as Sri Lankan government faced huge loss. It was the largest military operation undertaken by the armed forces at the time.
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 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.
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