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Sri Lankan Civil War

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Conflict and Peace

   Sri Lankan civil war
   Sri Lankan Army Airborne Commandos

     Date   July 1983 – present
   Location Sri Lanka
    Result  Ongoing
    Casus
   belli    Sharp disagreements between the majority Sinhalese and minority
            Tamil communities
   Combatants
   Military of Sri Lanka
   Indian Peace Keeping Force Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
   Commanders
   Junius Richard Jayawardene (1983-89)

   Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-93)
   Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993-94)
   Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005)
   Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-present)
   Velupillai Prabhakaran (1983-present)
   Strength
   111,000 11,000
                           Sri Lankan Civil War
   Periods:
   First – IPKF - Second - Third – Fourth

   Battles & operations – Bombings and terrorist attacks – Massacres

   The Sri Lankan Civil War is an ongoing conflict on the island-nation of
   Sri Lanka. Since the year 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war,
   predominantly between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
   Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a separatist militant
   organization who fight to create an independent state named Tamil Eelam
   in the North and East of the island. It is estimated that the war has
   claimed the lives of more than 68,000 people since 1983 and it has
   caused significant harm to the population and economy of the country,
   as well as leading to the ban of the LTTE as a terrorist organization
   across much of the developed world including in the United States, the
   European Union and Canada. Hopes of a lasting peace were raised when a
   cease-fire was declared in December 2001, and a ceasefire agreement was
   signed with international mediation in 2002. However renewed
   hostilities broke out in late 2005 and have continued to escalate,
   resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 people since November 2005.

   Officially, both sides continue to reaffirm their commitment to the
   ceasefire agreement, although the government has launched a number of
   military offensives in recent months and driven the LTTE out of
   virtually the entire Eastern province of the island, and on the fifth
   anniversary of the signing of the agreement the LTTE declared they
   would "resume their freedom struggle to achieve statehood".

Origins

Outbreak of civil war

   Frustrated by the ongoing politics in Sri Lanka, Tamil youth started to
   form militant groups, some funded by bank robberies. The most prominent
   of these was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or the LTTE. The LTTE
   initially carried out a campaign of low intensity violence against the
   state, particularly targeting policemen. Their first major operation
   was the assassination of the mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah in 1975.

   In July 1983, the LTTE launched a deadly attack on the military in the
   north of the country killing 13 soldiers and sparking riots in Colombo,
   the capital, and elsewhere (see Black July). Between 400 and 3,000
   Tamils were estimated to have been killed, and many more fled
   Sinhalese-majority areas. This is usually considered the beginning of
   the civil war.

   Apart from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, there initially was a
   plethora of militant groups. The LTTE's position, adopted from that of
   the PLO, was that there should be only one. Initially the LTTE gained
   prominence due to devastating attacks such as the massacre of civilians
   at the Kent and Dollar Farms in 1984 and the Anuradhapura massacre of
   146 civilians in 1985. Over time the LTTE merged with or largely
   exterminated almost all the other militant Tamil groups. As a result,
   many Tamil splinter groups ended up working with the Sri Lankan
   government as paramilitaries, and there remain legitimate
   Tamil-oriented political parties opposed to LTTE's vision of an
   independent state.

   Peace talks between the LTTE and the government were begun in Thimphu
   in 1985, but they soon failed, and the war continued. In 1987,
   government troops pushed the LTTE fighters to the northern city of
   Jaffna. In April 1987, the conflict exploded with ferocity, as both the
   government forces and the LTTE fighters engaged each other in a series
   of bloody operations.

   In July 1987, the LTTE carried out their first suicide attack: "
   Captain Miller" of the Black Tigers drove a small truck with explosives
   through the wall of a fortified Sri Lankan army camp, reportedly
   killing forty soldiers. Since then they have carried out over 170
   suicide attacks, more than any other organization in the world, and the
   suicide attack has become a trademark of the LTTE, and a characteristic
   of the civil war.

Indian involvement

   Sri Lankan Conflict

   Background
   Sri Lanka • History of Sri Lanka
   Origins of the Civil War
   Origins of the Civil War
   Black July • Riots and pogroms
   Human rights • State terrorism
   Tamil militant groups
   LTTE
   LTTE • Notable attacks Terrorist attacks • Attributed assassinations •
   Child soldiers
   Expulsion of Muslims from Jaffna
   Major figures
   Mahinda Rajapakse
   Velupillai Prabhakaran
   Karuna Amman
   Sarath Fonseka
   Indian Involvement
   Operation Poomalai
   Indo-Sri Lanka Accord
   Indian Peace Keeping Force
   Rajiv Gandhi • RAW
   See also
   Military of Sri Lanka
   TMVP • EPDP
   Notable assassinations

   India became involved in the conflict in the 1980s for a number of
   reasons including its leaders' desire to project India as the regional
   power in the area and worries about India's own Tamils seeking
   independence. The latter was particularly strong in the Indian state of
   Tamil Nadu, where ethnic kinship led to strong support toward the calls
   for independence by Sri Lankan Tamils. Throughout the conflict, the
   Indian central and state governments have supported both sides in
   different ways. Beginning in the 1980s, India, through its intelligence
   agency RAW, provided arms, training and monetary support to a number of
   Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, including the LTTE and its rival
   Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO). The LTTE's rise is widely
   attributed to the initial backing it received from RAW. It is believed
   that by supporting different militant groups, the Indian government
   hoped to keep the Tamil independence movement divided and be able to
   exert overt control over it.

   India became more actively involved in the late 1980s, and on June 5,
   1987 the Indian Air Force airdropped food parcels to Jaffna while it
   was under siege by Sri Lankan forces. At a time when the Sri Lankan
   government stated they were close to defeating the LTTE, India dropped
   25 tons of food and medicine by parachute into areas held by the LTTE
   in a direct move of support toward the rebels. Negotiations were held,
   and the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed on July 29, 1987, by
   Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President
   Jayewardene. Under this accord, the Sri Lankan Government made a number
   of concessions to Tamil demands, which included devolution of power to
   the provinces, a merger — subject to later referendum — of the northern
   and eastern provinces into a single province, and official status for
   the Tamil language (this was eventually enacted as the 13th Amendment).
   India agreed to establish order in the north and east through a
   peacekeeping force, and to cease assisting Tamil insurgents. Militant
   groups including the LTTE, although initially reluctant, agreed to
   surrender their arms to the IPKF.

   At the time the Sri Lankan government, which was facing an unrelated
   uprising by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in the south, called in the
   Indian military immediately after the agreement was signed. A force
   dubbed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was formed, and it
   initially oversaw a cease-fire and a modest disarmament of the militant
   groups. The Sri Lankan government pulled its troops south and put down
   the JVP rebellion as the IPKF took over control of most areas in the
   north of the country.

   While most Tamil militant groups laid down their weapons and agreed to
   seek a peaceful solution to the conflict, the LTTE refused to disarm
   its fighters. Keen to ensure the success of the accord, the IPKF then
   tried to demobilize the LTTE by force and ended up in full-scale
   conflict with the them. In the process Indian troops committed major
   human rights abuses in the north and were accused by many human rights
   groups of committing various atrocities. It soon met stiff opposition
   from the Tamils. Simultaneously, nationalist sentiment led many
   Sinhalese to oppose the continued Indian presence in Sri Lanka. These
   led to the Sri Lankan government's call for India to quit the island,
   and they allegedly entered into a secret deal with the LTTE that
   culminated in a ceasefire. However, the LTTE and IPKF continued to have
   frequent hostilities, and according to some reports, the Sri Lankan
   government even armed the rebels in order to see the back of the Indian
   forces. Although casualties among the IPKF mounted, and calls for the
   withdrawal of the IPFK from both sides of the Sri Lankan conflict grew,
   Gandhi refused to remove the IPKF from Sri Lanka. However, following
   his defeat in India parliamentary elections in December 1989, the new
   prime Minister V. P. Singh ordered the withdrawal of the IPKF, and
   their last ship left Sri Lanka on 24 March 1990. The 32 month presence
   of the IPKF in Sri Lanka resulted in the death of 1100 Indian soldiers
   and over 5000 Sri Lankans and cost over 20 billion rupees for the
   Indian government.
     * "India deliberately aggravated Sri Lanka's ethnic crisis",
       Velupillai Prabakaran

Rajiv Gandhi Assassination

   Support for the LTTE in India dropped considerably in 1991, after the
   assassination of an ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, by an LTTE woman
   suicide bomber, Thenmuli Rajaratnam. The Indian press has subsequently
   reported that Prabhakaran decided to eliminate Gandhi as he considered
   him to be against the Tamil liberation struggle and feared that Gandhi
   might re-induct the IPKF, which Prabakaran termed the "satanic force",
   if he won the 1991 Indian elections. In 1998 a court in India presided
   over by Special Judge V Navaneetham found the LTTE and its leader
   Velupillai Prabhakaran responsible for the assassination. and in a 2006
   interview, LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham stated regret over the
   assassination, although he stopped short of outright acceptance of
   responsibility for it.

   India remains an outside observer to the ongoing peace process, with
   frequent demands to press for an extradition of Velupillai Prabhakaran,
   even if a peace deal is struck between the parties in the future.
   India's central government has been firmly against the LTTE, although
   it does still speak up for Tamils' rights. However, regional Dravidian
   parties in Tamil Nadu have often discreetly spoken in favour of the
   LTTE.

Eelam War II

   Bodies of young Buddhist monks who were massacred by the LTTE in
   Aranthalawa, Sri Lanka
   Bodies of young Buddhist monks who were massacred by the LTTE in
   Aranthalawa, Sri Lanka

   In the 1980s and 1990s, successive governments enacted a number of
   official acts to appease the Tamil community, including recognizing
   Tamil as an official language and merging the Northern and Eastern
   Provinces of the country.

   Yet the violence continued, as the LTTE took control of significant
   parts of the north when the IPKF withdrew, and established many
   government-like functions in the areas under its control. A tentative
   ceasefire held in 1990 as the LTTE occupied itself with destroying
   rival Tamil groups while the government cracked down on the JVP
   uprising. When both major combatants had established their power bases,
   they turned on each other and the ceasefire broke down. The government
   launched an offensive to try to retake Jaffna.

   This phase of the war soon acquired the name Eelam War II. It was
   marked by unprecedented brutality. The LTTE massacred 113 Sinhalese and
   Muslim policemen after they had surrendered on promises of safe
   conduct. The government placed an embargo on food and medicine entering
   the Jaffna peninsula and the air force relentlessly bombed LTTE targets
   in the area. The LTTE responded by attacking Sinhalese and Muslim
   villages and massacring civilians. One of the largest civilian
   massacres of the war occurred when the LTTE massacred 166 Muslim
   civilians at Palliyagodella. The government trained and armed Home
   Guard Muslim units then took revenge on Tamil villages. The sight of
   burning bodies became a common sight along roadsides in the north and
   east. Throughout the country, government death squads hunted down,
   kidnapped, or killed Sinhalese or Tamil youth suspected of being JVP or
   LTTE sympathizers, respectively. In October 1990, the LTTE expelled all
   the Muslims residing in Jaffna. A total of 28,000 Muslims were forced
   to leave their homes taking nothing but the clothes on their backs.

   The largest battle of the war was in July 1991, when the army's
   Elephant Pass base, which controlled access to the Jaffna peninsula,
   was surrounded by 5,000 LTTE troops. More than 2,000 died on both sides
   in the month-long siege, before 10,000 government troops arrived to
   relieve the base.

   In February 1992, another series of government offensives failed to
   capture Jaffna. The LTTE, for its part, scored a major victory when one
   of their suicide bombers killed Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe
   Premadasa in May 1993.

The Kumaratunga era

   In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the UNP was defeated and, amidst
   great hope, the People's Alliance, headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga,
   came to power on a peace platform. Chandrika Kumaratunga won the
   presidential elections as well after the LTTE assassinated the
   opposition leader Gamini Dissanayake. A ceasefire was agreed in January
   1995, but the ensuing negotiations proved fruitless. The LTTE broke the
   ceasefire on April 19 and thus began the next phase of the war, dubbed
   Eelam War III.

   The new government then pursued a policy of "war for peace". Determined
   to retake the key rebel stronghold of Jaffna, which was occupied by
   2,000 rebels, it poured troops into the peninsula. In one particular
   incident in August 1995, Air Force jets bombed Navali's St. Peter's
   church, killing at least 65 refugees and wounding 150 others.
   Government troops initially cut off the peninsula from the rest of the
   island, and then after 7 weeks of heavy fighting succeeded in bringing
   Jaffna under government control for the first time in nearly a decade.
   In a high profile ceremony, Sri Lankan Defense Minister Anurudda
   Ratwatte raised the national flag inside the Jaffna fort on December 5,
   1995. The government estimated that approximately 2500 soldiers and
   rebels were killed in the offensive, and an estimated 7,000 wounded.
   The LTTE and more than 350,000 civilians, compelled by LTTE pressure to
   leave Jaffna, fled to the Vanni region in the interior. Most of the
   refugees returned later the next year.
   Aftermath of the LTTE suicide bombing of the Sacred Buddhist Shrine Sri
   Dalada Maligawa which killed 7 civilians and resulted in the
   proscription of the LTTE as a terrorist organization in Sri Lanka
   Aftermath of the LTTE suicide bombing of the Sacred Buddhist Shrine Sri
   Dalada Maligawa which killed 7 civilians and resulted in the
   proscription of the LTTE as a terrorist organization in Sri Lanka

   The government launched another offensive in August 1996. Another
   200,000 civilians fled the violence. The town of Kilinochchi was taken
   on September 29. On May 13, 1997, 20,000 government troops tried to
   open a supply line through the LTTE-controlled Vanni, but failed.
   Civilians were regularly killed and wounded by both sides

   As violence continued in the North, LTTE suicide and time bombs were
   exploded numerous times in populated city areas and public transport in
   the South of the country, killing hundreds of civilians. In January
   1996, the LTTE carried out one of their deadliest suicide bomb attacks
   at the Central bank in Colombo, killing 90 and injuring 1,400. In
   October 1997 they bombed the Sri Lankan World Trade Centre and, in
   January 1998, detonated a truck bomb in Kandy, damaging the Temple of
   the Tooth, one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in the world. In
   response to this bombing, the Sri Lankan government outlawed the LTTE
   and with some success pressed other governments around the world to do
   the same, significantly interfering with their fund-raising activities.

   In March 1999, in Operation Rana Gosa, the government tried invading
   the Vanni from the south. The army made some gains, taking control of
   Oddusuddan and Madhu, but could not dislodge the LTTE from the region.
   In September 1999 the LTTE massacred 50 Sinhalese civilians at
   Gonagala.

   The LTTE returned to the offensive with "Operation Unceasing Waves" on
   November 2, 1999. Nearly all the Vanni rapidly fell back into LTTE
   hands. The LTTE launched 17 successful attacks in the region which
   culminated in the overrunning of the Paranthan Chemicals Factory base
   and the Kurrakkan Kaddukulam base. Thousands were killed in the
   fighting. The rebels also advanced north towards Elephant Pass and
   Jaffna. The LTTE was successful in cutting all land and sea supply
   lines of the Sri Lankan armed forces in the town of Kilinochchi and
   surrounding areas. In December 1999 the LTTE attempted to assassinate
   President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a suicide attack at a pre-election
   rally. She lost one eye, among other injuries, but was able to defeat
   opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in the Presidential election and
   was reelected for her second term in office.

Early peace efforts

   Exhaustion with the war was building. By mid-2000, human rights groups
   estimated that more than one million people in Sri Lanka were
   internally displaced persons, living in camps, homeless and struggling
   for survival. As a result, a significant peace movement developed in
   the late 1990s, with many organisations holding peace camps,
   conferences, trainings and peace meditations, and many other efforts to
   bridge the two sides at all levels. As early as February 2000, Norway
   was asked to mediate by both sides, and initial international
   diplomatic moves began to find a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

   Hopes for peaced gained ground as the LTTE declared a unilateral
   ceasefire in December 2000, but they canceled it on April 24, 2001 and
   launched another offensive against the government. After securing a
   vast area controlled by the military, the LTTE further advanced
   northwards. This advancement of the LTTE was posing a serious threat to
   the Elephant Pass military complex that housed 17,000 troops of the Sri
   Lankan forces.

   On April 22, 2000 the Elephant Pass military complex, which had
   separated the Jaffna peninsula from the Vanni mainland for 17 years,
   completely fell to the hands of the LTTE. The army then launched
   Operation Agni Khiela to take back the southern Jaffna Peninsula, but
   sustained losses. The LTTE continued to press towards Jaffna, and many
   feared it would fall to the LTTE, but the military repulsed LTTE
   offensives and was able to maintain control of the city.

   In July 2001 the LTTE carried out a devastating suicide attack on
   Bandaranaike International Airport in July 2001, destroying eight of
   the air force's planes (2 IAI Kfirs, 1 Mil-17, 1 Mil-24, 3 K-7
   trainers, 1 MiG-27) and four Sri Lankan Airlines planes (2 Airbus
   A330s, 1 A340 and 1 A320), dampening the economy and causing tourism, a
   vital foreign exchange earner for the government, to plummet.

2002 Peace Process

   Approximate extent of area under the LTTE control, as of December 2001.
   Red areas are under full control, orange indicates partial control,
   yellow regions are claimed but not controlled.
   Approximate extent of area under the LTTE control, as of December 2001.
   Red areas are under full control, orange indicates partial control,
   yellow regions are claimed but not controlled.

Beginning of the ceasefire

   Towards the end of 2001, however, following the attacks of 9/11, the
   LTTE began to declare their willingness to explore measures for a
   peaceful settlement to the conflict. The LTTE are believed to have
   taken this action after fear of international pressure and even direct
   US support of the Sri Lankan Government as part of the War on Terror.
   In the south, the government was facing increasing criticism over its
   "war for peace" strategy, with peace nowhere in sight, and the economy
   in tatters. After losing a no-confidence motion, President Kumaratunga
   was forced to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections. The
   elections, held on December 5, 2001 saw a sweeping victory for the
   United National Front, led by Ranil Wickremasinghe, who campaigned on a
   pro-peace platform and pledged to find a negotiated settlement to the
   conflict.

   On December 19, amidst efforts by Norway to bring the government and
   the Tamil Tigers to the negotiating table, the LTTE announced a 30 day
   ceasefire with the Sri Lankan government and pledged to halt all
   attacks against government forces. The new government welcomed the
   move, and reciprocated it 2 days later, announcing a month long
   ceasefire and agreeing to lift a long standing economic embargo on
   rebel-held territory.

Signing of MoU

   LTTE Sea Tiger boat patroling during the peace.
   LTTE Sea Tiger boat patroling during the peace.

   The two sides formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on
   February 22, 2002 and signed a permanent ceasefire agreement (CFA).
   Norway was named mediator, and it was decided that they, together with
   the other Nordic countries, monitor the ceasefire through a committee
   of experts named the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. In August, the
   government agreed to lift the ban on the LTTE and paved the way for the
   resumption of direct negotiations with the LTTE.

   Following the signing of the ceasefire agreement, commercial air
   flights to Jaffna began and the LTTE opened the key A9 highway, which
   linked government controlled area in the south with Jaffna and ran
   through LTTE territory, allowing civilian traffic through the Vanni
   region for the first time in many years. Many foreign countries also
   offered substantial financial support if peace was achieved and
   optimism grew that an end to the decades long conflict was in sight.

   The much anticipated peace talks began in Phuket, Thailand on the
   September 16 and 5 further rounds followed in Phuket, Norway and
   Berlin, Germany. During the talks, both sides agreed to the principle
   of a federal solution and the Tigers drooped their long standing demand
   for separate state. This was a key compromise from the LTTE, which had
   always insisted on an independent Tamil state and it also represented a
   compromise from the government, which had seldom agreed to more than
   minimal devolution. Both sides also exchanged prisoners of war for
   first time.

Political changes in the South

   Following the elections of 2001, for the first time in Sri Lanka's
   history, the President and Prime Minister were of two different
   parties. This co-habitation was extremely uneasy, especially since
   Prime Minister Wickremasinghe and the UNP favoured a federal solution
   to the conflict, while hard-line elements within President
   Kumaratunga's party and other Sinhala Nationalist groups allied to her
   opposed one as they did not trust the LTTE, which continued to levy
   taxes, strengthen themselves militarily by smuggling in arms and
   ammunition, recruit child soldiers, and engage in killings of members
   of rival Tamil groups and government intelligence agents.
   Government inaction in the face of continuing arms smuggling by the
   LTTE in vessels such as this led to growing opposition in the south to
   Wickramasinghe's policies
   Government inaction in the face of continuing arms smuggling by the
   LTTE in vessels such as this led to growing opposition in the south to
   Wickramasinghe's policies

   The talks broke down on April 21, 2003 when the Tamil Tigers announced
   they were suspending them due to their "displeasure" at the handling of
   some "critical issues". Among the reasons the Tigers gave for this were
   their exclusion from reconstruction talks in Washington DC on 14 April
   and a more general perception that they were not receiving the full
   economic rewards of peace, the failure, as they saw it, of dividends in
   peace talks to transfer to security withdrawals on the ground and the
   disparity, as they saw it, between the relative calm of the
   government-held north-east and continuing violence in Tiger-held areas.
   However the LTTE maintained it was committed to a settlement to the
   two-decade conflict, but stated that progress had to be made on the
   ground before the settlement proceeded.

   On October 31, the LTTE issued its own peace proposal, calling for an
   Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA). The ISGA would be controlled
   by the LTTE and would have broad powers in the north and east. (see the
   Full text of the proposals) This provoked a strong backlash among the
   hardline elements in the South, who accused Premier Wickremasinghe of
   handing the North and East to the LTTE. Under pressure from within her
   own party to take action, Kumaratunga declared a state of emergency and
   took three key government ministries, the Ministry of Mass Media, the
   Interior Ministry and the crucial Defense Ministry. She then formed an
   alliance with the JVP, called the United People's Freedom Alliance,
   opposed to the ISGA and advocating a harder line on the LTTE and called
   for fresh elections. The elections, held on April 8, 2004, resulted in
   victory for UPFA with Mahinda Rajapakse appointed as Prime Minister.
   Initial fears of a resumption of the conflict were proved unfounded
   when the new government expressed its desire to continue the peace
   process and find a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

Split of the LTTE

   The breakaway of Karuna from the LTTE significantly weakened it in the
   east
   The breakaway of Karuna from the LTTE significantly weakened it in the
   east

   Meanwhile, there was a major fracturing between the northern and
   eastern wings of the LTTE. Colonel Karuna, the Eastern commander of the
   LTTE and one of Prabakaran's trusted lieutenants pulled 5,000 eastern
   troops out of the LTTE, claiming insufficient resources and power were
   being given to Tamils of the eastern part of the island. It was the
   biggest expression of dissension in the history of the LTTE and a civil
   war within the LTTE seemed imminent. After the parliamentary elections,
   brief fighting south of Trincomalee led to a rapid retreat and
   capitulation of Karuna's group, their leaders eventually going into
   hiding including Karuna himself, who was helped by a Muslim politician
   from the ruling party to escape. However the "Karuna faction" maintains
   a significant presence in the East and continues to launch attacks
   against the LTTE. The LTTE accuses the army of covertly backing the
   breakaway group, which subsequently formed a political party named the
   TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) and hopes to contest in
   future elections.

   The ceasefire largely held through all this turmoil, although the
   situation was complicated by allegations that both sides were carrying
   out covert operations against each other. The government claimed that
   the LTTE was killing political opponents and government intelligence
   officers, while the rebels accused the government of supporting
   paramilitary groups against them, especially the Karuna group.

Tsunami and aftermath

   On December 26, 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami hit Sri Lanka, killing
   more than 30,000 people, and leaving many more homeless. Aid poured in
   from donor countries, but disagreements arose instantly over how it
   should be distributed to the Tamil regions under LTTE control. By June
   24, the government and LTTE agreed on the Post-Tsunami Operational
   Management Structure (P-TOMS), but it received sharp criticism from
   Muslims and from the JVP, who left the government in protest. President
   Kumaratunga eventually scrapped P-TOMS, which led to widespread
   criticism that sufficient aid was not reaching the North and East of
   the country. However, immediately following the tsunami there was a
   marked decrease in violence in the North.
   United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signing the
   Condolence Book for Lakshman Kadirgamar
   United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signing the
   Condolence Book for Lakshman Kadirgamar

   Then Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, a Tamil who was
   highly respected by foreign diplomats and who had been sharply critical
   of the LTTE, was assassinated at his home on August 12, 2005, allegedly
   by an LTTE sniper. His assassination led to the marginalization of the
   LTTE from the international community, and is thought to be the
   instance when the LTTE lost all sympathy it enjoyed in the eyes of
   foreign nations. When the Sri Lankan government later took military
   action against the LTTE in 2006 violating the ceasefire agreement, one
   of the reasons cited towards the silence of the international community
   was LTTE's assassination of Kadiragama.

   Further political change occurred when the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
   declared President Kumaratunga's second and final term over and ordered
   her to hold fresh Presidential elections. The main candidates for the
   election, which was held in November, were former Prime Minister
   Wickremasinghe, the UNF candidate and who advocated the reopening of
   talks with the LTTE and the UPFA candidate, Prime Minister Rajapaksa
   who called for a tougher line against the LTTE and a renegotiation of
   the ceasefire. The LTTE openly called for a boycott of the election by
   the Tamils, but, believing the Tamils were getting ready to vote in
   large numbers, the LTTE used violence and intimidation to prevent a
   vast number of Tamils from voting. Many of them were expected to vote
   for Wickremasinghe, and the loss of their votes proved fatal to his
   chances as Rajapakse achieved a narrow win. Despite being seen as a
   hardliner, Rajapaksa promised to pursue peace and restart talks with
   the rebels.

   Following the election, the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran stated
   in his annual address that the Tigers would "renew their struggle" in
   2006 if the government did not take serious moves toward peace.

Resumption of hostilities

   Just days after Prabhakaran's speech, a new round of violence erupted.
   Beginning in December 2005, there was increased guerrilla activity to
   the northeast, including Claymore mine attacks which killed 150
   government troops, clashes between the Sea Tigers and the Sri Lanka
   navy, and the killings of sympathizers on both sides including Taraki
   Sivaram, a journalist, and Joseph Pararajasingham, a pro-LTTE MP. This
   violence left around 200 people dead. The LTTE denied responsibility
   for the attacks, blaming "armed civilian groups" for them, although the
   government held them directly responsible.

Talks and further violence

   In light of this violence, the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor conference
   called on both parties to return to the negotiating table. The
   co-chairs — the United States in particular — were heavily critical of
   the violence perpetrated by the LTTE. US State Department officials, as
   well as the US ambassador to Sri Lanka, gave warnings to the Tigers
   claiming a return to hostilities would mean that the Tigers would face
   a "more capable and more determined" Sri Lankan military.
   Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim addresses peace talks between the
   Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE at Chatueau de Bossey in Switzerland
   Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim addresses peace talks between the
   Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE at Chatueau de Bossey in Switzerland

   In a last-minute effort to salvage an agreement between the parties,
   the Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim and the LTTE theoretician
   Anton Balasingham arrived in the island. The parties severely disagreed
   on the location of the talks; however, continued efforts produced a
   breakthrough when both parties agreed on February 7, 2006, that new
   talks could be held in Geneva, Switzerland on February 22 and February
   23. These talks were reported to have gone "above expectations", with
   both the government and the LTTE agreeing to curb the violence and to
   hold further talks on April 19-21.

   During the weeks after the talks, there was a significant decrease in
   violence. However the LTTE resumed attacks against the military in
   April beginning with a Claymore anti-personnel mine attack on military
   vehicles which killed 10 navy sailors on April 11th. The following day,
   coordinated bombings by rebels and rioting in the north-eastern part of
   the country left 16 dead. First, a Claymore anti-personnel mine
   exploded in Trincomalee, killing two policemen in their vehicle.
   Another blast, set off in a crowded vegetable market, killed one
   soldier and some civilians. Ensuing rioting by civilians left more than
   a dozen dead. Responsibility for these attacks was claimed by an
   organisation called the Upsurging People's Force, which the military
   accused of being a front for the LTTE.

   In light of this violence, the LTTE called for a postponement of the
   Geneva talks until April 24-25, and the government initially agreed to
   this. Following negotiations, both the government and the rebels agreed
   to have a civilian vessel transport the regional LTTE leaders with
   international truce monitors on April 16, which involved crossing
   government-controlled territory. However, the climate shifted
   drastically when the Tamil Tigers canceled the meeting, claiming not to
   have agreed to a naval escort. According to the SLMM, the Tamil rebels
   had previously agreed to the escort. This led to Helen Olafsdottir,
   spokesperson for the SLMM saying "It was part of the agreement. The
   rebels should have read the clauses carefully. We are frustrated."

   On April 20, 2006, the LTTE officially pulled out of peace talks
   indefinitely. While they stated that transportation issues had
   prevented them from meeting their regional leaders, some analysts and
   the international community held a deep skepticism, seeing the
   transportation issue as a delaying tactic by the LTTE in order to avoid
   attending peace talks in Geneva.

   Violence continued to spiral and on April 23, 2006, six Sinhalese rice
   farmers were massacred in their paddy fields by suspected LTTE cadres
   in the Trincomalee district. The following day, two suspected Tamil
   Tiger rebels were shot dead in Batticaloa when caught planting mines
   after rebels reportedly hacked a young mother to death and kidnapped
   her infant.

   International condemnation against the LTTE skyrocketed following the
   attempted assassination of the commander of the Sri Lanka Army,
   Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka by a pregnant LTTE Black Tiger
   suicide bomber Anoja Kugenthirasah, who blew herself up at the Sri
   Lankan Army headquarters in the capital, Colombo. Lt. Gen. Fonseka and
   twenty-seven others were injured, while ten people were killed in the
   attack. For the first time since the 2001 ceasefire, the Sri Lanka Air
   Force carried out aerial assaults on rebel positions in the
   north-eastern part of the island nation in retaliation for the attack.

   This attack, along with the assassination of Lakshman Kadiragama a year
   earlier and an unsuccessful attack against a naval vessel carrying 710
   unarmed security force personnel on holiday, proved the catalysts as
   the European Union decided to proscribe the LTTE as a terrorist
   organisation on May 19, 2006. It resulted in the freezing of LTTE
   assets in the member nations of the EU, and put an end to its efforts
   to raise funds its terror campaign in Sri Lanka. In a statement, the
   European Parliament said that the LTTE did not represent all the Tamils
   and called on it to "allow for political pluralism and alternate
   democratic voices in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka".

   As north and east of the country continued to be rocked by attacks, new
   talks were scheduled in Oslo, Norway, between June 8-9. Delegations
   from both sides arrived in Oslo, but the talks were canceled when the
   LTTE refused to meet directly with the government delegation claiming
   its fighters were not been allowed safe passage to travel to the talks.
   Norwegian mediator Erik Solheim told journalists that the LTTE should
   take direct responsibility for the collapse of the talks.

   Further violence followed, including the Kebithigollewa massacre on
   June 15, 2006 in which the LTTE attacked a bus killing at least 64
   Sinhalese civilians and prompting more air strikes by the Air Force,
   and the assassination of Sri Lankas third highest-ranking army officer
   and Deputy Chief of Staff General Parami Kulatunga on June 26 by an
   LTTE suicide bomber. These events led the SLMM to question whether a
   ceasefire could still be said to exist. However most analysts continued
   to believe that the return to full-scale war was unlikely and the
   "low-intensity conflict" would continue.

Mavil Aru Water dispute

   A new crisis leading to the first large-scale fighting since signing of
   the ceasefire occurred when the LTTE closed the sluice gates of the
   Mavil Aru reservoir on July 21 and cut the water supply to 15,000
   villages in government controlled areas. After initial negotiations and
   efforts by the SLMM to open the gates failed, the Air Force attacked
   LTTE positions on July 26, and ground troops began an operation to open
   the gate. Following these moves, the political leader of the LTTE S
   Elilan announced an end to the cease-fire although Palitha Kohona, a
   government spokesman, stated that the government remained committed to
   the cease-fire.

   The sluice gates were eventually reopened on August 8, with conflicting
   reports as to who actually opened them. Initially, the SLMM claimed
   that they managed to persuade the LTTE to lift the waterway blockade
   conditionally. However a government spokesman said that "utilities
   could not be used as bargaining tools" by the rebels and government
   forces launched fresh attacks on LTTE positions around the reservoir.
   These attacks prompted condemnation from SLMM Chief of Staff, who
   stated "(The government) have the information that the LTTE has made
   this offer." "It is quite obvious they are not interested in water.
   They are interested in something else." The LTTE then claimed they
   opened the sluice gates "on humanitarian grounds" although this was
   disputed by military correspondents, who stated the water began flowing
   immediately after the security forces carried out a precise bombing of
   the Mavil Aru anicut. Eventually, following heavy fighting with the
   rebels, government troops gained full control of the Mavil Aru
   reservoir on August 15.

LTTE offensives in Muttur and Jaffna

   As fierce fighting was ongoing in the vicinity of Mavil Aru, the
   violence spread to Trincomalee, where the LTTE launched an attack on a
   crucial Sri Lanka Navy base, and to the strategic government controlled
   coastal town of Muttur in early August, resulting in the deaths of at
   least 30 civilians and displacing 25,000 residents of the area. The
   clashes erupted on August 2, 2006 when the LTTE launched a heavy
   artillery attack on Muttur and then moved in, gaining control of some
   parts of the town. The military retaliated, and reestablished full
   control over the town by August 5, killing over 150 LTTE cadres in
   heavy fighting.

   Soon afterwards, 17 persons working for the International French
   charity Action Against Hunger (ACF) in Muthur, were found executed.
   They were found lying face down on the floor of their office, with
   bullet wounds, still wearing their clearly marked T-shirts indicating
   they were international humanitarian workers. The murders prompted
   widespread international condemnation. The SLMM claimed that the
   government was behind the attack, but the government denied the
   allegation calling it "pathetic and biased", and stated that the SLMM
   had "no right to make such a statement because they are not
   professionals in autopsy or post-mortem" An official investigation
   launched by the government with the aid of international forensic
   experts is currently ongoing.

   Meanwhile, in the north of the country, some of the bloodiest fighting
   since 2001 took place after the LTTE launched massive attacks on Sri
   Lanka Army defence lines in the Jaffna peninsula on August 11. The LTTE
   used a force of 400 to 500 fighters in the attacks which consisted of
   land and amphibious assaults, and also fired a barrage of artillery at
   government positions, including the key military airbase at Palaly.
   Initially, the Tigers broke through army defense lines around
   Muhamalai, and advanced further north, but they were halted after 10
   hours of fierce fighting. Isolated battles continued over the next few
   days, but the LTTE was forced to give up its offensive due to heavy
   casualties. The LTTE is estimated to have lost over 250 cadres in the
   operation, while 90 Sri Lankan soldiers and sailors were also killed.

Chencholai Airstrike

   As ground battles were ongoing in the north and the east of Sri Lanka,
   Sri Lanka Air Force carried out an air strike against a facility in the
   rebel held Mullaitivu area, killing a number of Tamil girls. Although
   the LTTE claimed 61 girls were killed, the SLMM stated they were able
   to count just 19 bodies. The government stated that it was an LTTE
   training facility and that the children were LTTE child soldiers,
   although the LTTE claimed the victims were schoolgirls attending a
   course on first aid at an orphanage.

   On the same day, a convoy carrying the Pakistani High Commissioner to
   Sri Lanka Bashir Wali Mohamed was attacked by a claymore antipersonnel
   mine concealed within an auto rickshaw. The High Commissioner escaped
   unhurt, but seven people were killed and a further seventeen injured in
   the blast. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the LTTE
   are strongly believed to have carried it out, in order to intimidate
   Pakistan, which is one of the main suppliers of military equipment to
   the Sri Lankan government.

Fall of Sampur

   Since the resumption of violence, concerns were mounting among the
   military establishment that the strategically crucial Sri Lanka Navy
   base in Trinconmalee was under grave threat from LTTE gun positions
   located in and around Sampur, which lies across the Koddiyar Bay from
   Trincomalee. Artillery fired from LTTE bases in the area could
   potentially cripple the naval base, bringing it to a complete
   standstill and therefore cutting the only military supply chain to
   Jaffna. All movements of naval vessels were also under the constant
   surveillance of the LTTE. These fears were backed up by a United States
   military advisory team which visited the island in 2005.

   Following the clashes in Mavil Aru and Muttur, the LTTE had intensified
   attacks targeting the naval base in Trincomalee, and in a speech on
   August 21, Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse made clear the
   government intentions were to neutralize the LTTE threat from Sampur.
   On August 28, the Sri Lankan military launched an assault to retake the
   LTTE camps in Sampur and the adjoining Kaddaiparichchan and Thoppur
   areas. This led the LTTE to declare that if the offensive continued,
   the ceasefire would be officially over.

   After steady progress, Sri Lankan security forces led by Brigade
   Commander Sarath Wijesinghe re-captured Sampur from the LTTE on
   September 4, and began to establish military bases there, as the LTTE
   admitted defeat and stated their cadres "withdrew" from the
   strategically important town. It marked the first significant
   territorial change of hands since the signing of the ceasefire
   agreement in 2002. The Sri Lankan Military estimated that 33 personnel
   were killed in the offensive, along with over 200 LTTE cadres.

LTTE retaliation and further peace talks

   The LTTE struck back in October. First, they killed nearly 130 soldiers
   in a fierce battle at Muhamalai, the crossing-point between government
   and LTTE controlled area in the north of the country. Just days later,
   a suspected LTTE suicide bomber struck a naval convoy in Habaraba, in
   the centre of the country killing about 100 unarmed sailors who were
   returning home on leave. It was the deadliest suicide attack in the
   history of the conflict. Two days later, LTTE Sea Tiger cadres launched
   an attack against the Dakshina naval base in the sothern port city of
   Galle. It was the farthest south any major LTTE attack had taken place,
   and involved 15 LTTE cadres who arrived in five suicide boats. The
   attack was repulsed by the government, and the damage to the naval base
   was minimum. All 15 LTTE suicide cadres are believed to have died in
   the attack, along with one Sri Lanka Navy sailor.

   Despite these incidents, both parties agreed to unconditionally attend
   peace talks in Geneva on October 28-29. However the peace talks broke
   down due to disagreements over the reopening of the key A9 highway,
   which is the link between Jaffna and government controlled areas in the
   south. While the LTTE wanted the highway, which was closed following
   fierce battles in August, to be reopened, the government refused,
   stating the LTTE would use it to collect tax from people passing
   through and would use it to launch further offenses against government
   troops.

   Following the dawn of the new year, suspected LTTE cadres carried out
   two bus bombings in the south of the country, killing 21 civilians.
   News reports stated that the attacks bore all the hallmarks of an LTTE
   attack. The Sri Lankan government condemned the attacks and blamed the
   LTTE for carrying them out, although the LTTE denied any involvement.
   Iqbal Athas, an analyst for Jane's Defence Weekly commented that the
   LTTE's targeting of civilians was a cause for concern, and that further
   attacks against civilians couldn't be ruled out. Other analysts too
   expressed fears that LTTE attacks, which had largely been confined to
   military and political targets during the ceasefire period, may now
   increasingly target civilians as in earlier stages of a conflict.

Government offensive in the East

   Sri Lanka Army commandos in front of Vaharai hospital following its
   fall to Sri Lankan troops
   Sri Lanka Army commandos in front of Vaharai hospital following its
   fall to Sri Lankan troops

   In December 2006, the Commander of the Army and other senior government
   officials expressed their plans to initially drive the LTTE out of the
   Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, and then use the full strength of the
   military to defeat the LTTE in the North of the country. Among the
   reasons cited by the military for the offensives in the east were the
   need to "free the civilians in the area from the LTTE", who the
   military stated was firing artillery towards civilian settlements and
   were using 35,000 people as human shields. These claims were later
   backed by the civilians who told reporters that they were held by force
   by the Tamil Tigers.

   Subsequently, the Army began an offensive against the LTTE on December
   8, 2006 in the Batticoloa district with the objective of taking
   Vakarai, the principle stronghold of the LTTE in the East, but
   temporarily aborted it after a week of fighting due to the large number
   of civilians in the area and the difficulty in conducting combat
   operations due to the ongoing Monsoon rain. Over the next few weeks, an
   estimated 20,000 civilians fled from Vakarai to Government controlled
   areas fearing the imminent assault. The Army launched a new offensive
   in mid January, and Vakarai fell to the advancing troops on January 19,
   2007. The Army launched assaults from three different directions, and
   the LTTE and Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella announced that "The
   people of Vaharai have been liberated from the clutches of the
   terrorists". The loss of Vakarai has been predicted to cut off supply
   routes of the northern Tigers to their cadres in the east, thus
   weakening the Tigers' already diminishing grip on the east.

   As the military offensive was ongoing, the LTTE continued to carry out
   attacks against civilians in government held territory. On April 1,
   2007, the Sri Lankan military accused the LTTE of killing six Sinhalese
   tsunami aid workers in the Eastern district of Batticaloa. The next
   day, suspected LTTE cadres set off a bomb abord a civilian bus in
   Ampara which killing seventeen people, including three children.

   Troops mostly operating in small groups of Special Forces and Commando
   units began a new operation in February to clear the last remaining
   LTTE cadres from the Eastern Province. As part of the operation, troops
   captured the a key LTTE base in Kokkadicholai on March 28th, and the
   strategic A5 highway on April 12, brining the entire highway under
   government control for the first time in 15 years. This meant the
   LTTE's presence in the east was reduced to 140 square kilometer pocket
   of jungle land in the Thoppigala area north-west of Batticaloa. The
   offensive had left nine soldiers dead along with 184 Tiger cadres, with
   no civilian casualties, according to military estimates.

LTTE Air Arm

   An air strike by the LTTE happened in the first time in history on
   March 26th 2007. Its air arm, the Air Tigers, hit the Sri Lanka Air
   Force base at Katunayake, killing 3 SLAF personnel and wounding about
   17 according to SLAF sources. On April 23, an air raid was flown by 1-3
   LTTE planes which dropped bombs on targets in the Palali area. LTTE and
   government sources give conflicting but not mutually exclusive accounts
   of the event: One attack seems to have caused significant damage, and a
   possible second one was aborted; Jaffna-Palali Air Force Base seems to
   have been among the targets attacked.

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