Battle of Kilinochchi

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Battle of Kilinochchi
Part of the Sri Lankan civil war
Date September 27, 1998 - September 29, 1998 Location Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka Result Tamil Tiger victory
Belligerents
Military of Sri Lanka	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Casualties and losses
443 killed[1]	520 killed[1]

Sri Lankan Civil War Periods: First – IPKF - Second - Third – Fourth Engagements: Battles & operations – Bombings and terrorist attacks – Massacres

The Battle of Kilinochchi was a battle that occurred in September 1998 for the control of the city of Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka. The battle was fought between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE codename for the battle was Operation Unceasing Waves II.

[edit] The Battle

On September 27, 1998, the LTTE launched operation Unceasing Waves II, an offensive against the town of Kilinochchi. They assaulted the Sri Lankan Army’s Kilinochchi complex, ten miles south of the Elephant Pass base. The following day, the Tigers captured a distance of five miles on Jaffna-Vavuniya road. Elephant Pass and Paranthan military bases, further north, were also attacked to block reinforcements. Merciless fighting continued until September 29, 1998 when Kilinochchi finally fell to the Tigers. Up to 520 Tigers and 443 SLA soldiers were killed in the close-quarters and hand to hand fighting over two days. On the same day that Kilinochchi fell to the Tigers the city of Mankulam, which was rebel-held, fell to the SLA. So it was a win and a loss for the army the same day.^[1]

[edit] References