Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, rcds, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan General. He led some of the most successful military operations in the early part of the Sri Lankan Civil War, such as Vadamarachchi Operation and Operation Balavegaya. He was mortally wounded and his commanders and staff killed when the Land Rover they were travelling in hit a land mine in the island of Kayts while making preparations for Operation Final Countdown the proposed invasion of the Jaffna Peninsula.
Major General Vanigamuni Indrajith Vijeyakumar Mendis Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, psc, GR was a Sri Lankan general. One of the most distinguished field commanders in Sri Lanka, Wimalaratne raised the Gajaba Regiment, he commanded the 1st Brigade during the Vadamarachchi Operation, he commanded the Amphibious Task Force Commander during Operation Balavegaya and was the Commander Security Forces – Jaffna at the time of his death in a land mine explosion at Point Arali in the Kayts Island while making preparations to re-capture Jaffna.
Lieutenant General Parami Sugandika Bandara Kulatunga, RSP, VSV, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He was serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and its third highest-ranking officer at the time of his assassination.
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2010, the Army had approximately 200,000 regular personnel, between 20,000–40,000 reserve personnel and 18,000 National Guardsmen and comprises 13 operational divisions, one air-mobile brigade, one commando brigade, one special forces brigade, one independent armored brigade, three mechanized infantry brigades and over 40 infantry brigades. From the 1980s to 2009 the army was engaged in the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, MP, rcds, psc, commonly known as Sarath Fonseka, is a Sri Lankan military leader and a member of the parliament. He was the eighteenth Commander of Sri Lankan Army, and under his command the Sri Lankan Army ended the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; he thereafter briefly served as the Chief of Defence Staff. After retiring from the Army with the rank of General, he entered politics as the common opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment is one of two Special Operations units of the Sri Lanka Army, alongside the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces Regiment. The organizational and operational Structure of the Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment is much similar to the British Special Air Service (SAS) unit. Within one of the four Army Commando Regiments there is a 140-man counter-terrorist unit that provides the primary counter-terrorism response for Sri Lanka. This unit was created in 1980 and is based in Ganemulla, a suburb of Colombo.
The Gemunu Watch (GW) is a light infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Ceylon Light Infantry and the Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has been deployed in many major operations against the LTTE. It is made up of 14 regular units and 9 volunteer units. Headquartered at Kuruwita Army Camp, Ratnapura. It is named after one of the most famous Lankan Kings, King Dutugemunu.
Colonel Tuan Nizam Muthaliff, RWP, MI was a Sri Lanka Army officer and intelligence officer who, while serving as the commanding officer, 1 Military Intelligence Corps, was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the ceasefire and peace process.
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP, psc, GR is a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer currently serving as the 8th President of Sri Lanka since 2019. He has previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, leading the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to the military defeat of the Tamil tigers, which ended the Sri Lankan Civil War.
The Battle of Mullaitivu, also known as the First Battle of Mullaitivu and codenamed Operation Unceasing Waves, 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.
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.
Jagath Jayasuriya, VSV, USP, ndc, psc is a retired Sri Lanka Army general, and a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Sri Lankan military and Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. During the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he served as the Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni with overall command of SLA offensives in the Wanni region during the 2008 - 2009 period. He was also the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname from June 2014 to August 2017.
Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc is a Sri Lankan General. He is the Acting Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, His prior 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 Sri Lankan Ambassador and the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Headquarters.
Major General Gemunu Kulatunge, RSP, USP, ndc, psc (1941-2003) was a Sri Lankan general, who was the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.
Brigadier Tuan Samayraan Buhary Sally SLSR was a Sri Lankan military leader, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and was the first Malay and Muslim in the country to reach this rank and post.
Major General Kamal Gunaratne, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc, psc, GR is a Sri Lankan general. He is the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 53 Division and was a former Deputy Ambassador to Brazil. He was the Commanding Officer of the 53 Division in Sri Lanka Army, that is believed to have killed the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
General R. M. Daya Ratnayake, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP, ndu, psc was the 20th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army.
General Gerard Hector "Gerry" De Silva, RWP, VSV, USP is a Sri Lankan general. He was the 13th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Major General B.B. Susantha Mendis, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who was the former Commanding Officer of 51-2 Brigade based in Jaffna.
Major General Galwaduge Janaka Laksiri Waduge, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndu is a Sri Lankan general. He is the 10th Commander Security Forces Headquarters – Central and the former Colonel commandant of Military Intelligence Corps. He retired from active service in 2020 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 55 for Sri Lankan Armed Forces Personnel.
