The Palk Strait is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna District of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with Palk Bay in the southwest. With a minimum depth of less than 9.1 m, it is 40 to 85 miles wide and 85 miles long. Several rivers flow into it, including the Vaigai River of Tamil Nadu. The strait is named after Robert Palk, who was a governor of Madras (1755–1763) during the Company Raj period.
Major General Vanigamuni Indrajith Vijeyakumar Mendis Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, psc, GR was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. 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.
Point Pedro is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, at the northernmost point of the island.
Batticaloa is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, 111 kilometres (69 mi) south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is a popular tourist destination situated 35 km (22 mi) northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons.
Jaffna Lagoon is a large lagoon off Jaffna District and Kilinochchi District, northern Sri Lanka. The lagoon is surrounded by the densely populated Jaffna Peninsula containing palmyra palms, coconut plantations, and rice paddies. There are numerous fishing villages and some salt pans. The lagoon has extensive mudflats, seagrass beds and some mangroves. The lagoon attracts a wide variety of water birds including American flamingoes, ducks, gulls, terns and other shorebirds.
Jaffna Peninsula or is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval Jaffna kingdom.
Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth 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 Vanni, also spelled Wanni, is the name given to the mainland area of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It covers the entirety of Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya Districts, and most of Kilinochchi District, and has an area of approximately 7,650 square kilometres (2,950 sq mi). The population and infrastructure of the Vanni were devastated by the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Operation Liberation also known as the Vadamarachchi Operation was the military offensive carried out by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in May and June 1987 to recapture the territory of Vadamarachchi in the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. At the time it was the largest combined services operation undertaken by the armed forces deploying multiple brigade size formation, becoming the first conventional warfare engagement on Sri Lankan soil after the end of British colonial rule. The operation involved nearly 4,000 troops, supported by ground-attack aircraft, helicopter gunships and naval gun boats. The offensive achieved its primary objective, however operations were suspended when the Indian government dropped food supplies over Jaffna in Operation Poomalai on June 4, 1987, which prompted the Sri Lankan government to accept the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord.
The Northern Theater 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.
Valikamam is one of the three historic regions of Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Thenmarachchi and Vadamarachchi. Alternative spellings include Valikaamam or Valigamam.
Vadamarachchi lagoon is a lagoon in Jaffna District, northern Sri Lanka. The lagoon is sometimes referred to as Thondamannar lagoon. The lagoon separates the Vadamarachchi region from the Valikamam and Thenmarachchi regions.
Sanmugam Arumugam was a Ceylon Tamil irrigation engineer and writer.
The Northern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Eastern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Jaffna. The majority of the Sri Lankan Civil War was played out in this province.
Valvettithurai, sometimes shortened as VVT or Valvai, is a coastal town of Jaffna District on the northeast coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Province, Sri Lanka governed by an Urban Council of the same name. Valvettithurai was historically known for its seafaring traditions and olden transnational shipping trade.
Point Pedro Divisional Council is the local authority for Vadamarachchi East and Vadamarachchi North DS Divisions in northern Sri Lanka, except for the towns of Point Pedro and Valvettithurai which have their own local authorities. PPDC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 9 members elected using the open list proportional representation system. PPDC is sometimes called Vadamarachchi North Divisional Council.
Iranamadu Tank is an irrigation tank in northern Sri Lanka, approximately 3 mi (5 km) south east of Kilinochchi.
Chundikkulam National Park is a national park in northern Sri Lanka, approximately 12 km (7 mi) north east of Kilinochchi.
The Battle of Nelliady took place during the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It occurred on 5 July 1987, when a force of 50 LTTE militants assaulted the Sri Lanka Army Camp located in the Nelliady Central College in the town of Nelliady in the Jaffna District in northern Sri Lanka. The attack was the bloodiest battle for the Sri Lankan forces since the Vadamarachchi Operation in June 1987, which cleared the area of Nelliady of LTTE militants. The attack on Nelliady army camp resulted in the Sri Lankan forces suffering 19 killed and 31 wounded, while LTTE executed its first suicide bombing which was carried out by Captain Miller.
