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Vadamarachchi Operation
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 (Tamil Tigers). 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. Background Following the onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War, formally marked by the ambush of Sri Lanka Army ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eelam War I
Eelam War I (23 July 1983 - 29 July 1987) is the name given to the initial phase of the armed conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. Although tensions between the government and Tamil militant groups had been brewing since the 1970s, full-scale war did not break out until an attack by the LTTE on a Sri Lanka Army patrol in Jaffna, in the north of the country, on July 23, 1983, which killed 13 soldiers. The attack, and the subsequent riots in the south (dubbed Black July), are generally considered the start of the conflict. The fighting continued until 1985 when peace talks were held between the two sides in Thimphu, Bhutan in hopes of seeking a negotiated settlement. The peace talks proved as fruitless and fighting soon resumed. In 1987, the Vadamarachchi Operation of the Sri Lankan military had cornered the LTTE in Jaffna, on the tip of the island, and were confident of bringing an end to the conflict. However, due to internal pressure, specifically conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground-attack Aircraft
An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pressing the attack.Mortensen 1987, pp. 24–25. This class of aircraft is designed mostly for close air support and naval air-to-surface missions, overlapping the tactical bomber mission. Designs dedicated to non-naval roles are often known as ground-attack aircraft.Gunston 2009, p. 73. Fighter aircraft often carry out the attack role, although they would not be considered attack aircraft ''per se'', although fighter-bomber conversions of those same aircraft would be considered part of the class. Strike fighters, which have effectively replaced the fighter-bomber and light bomber concepts, also differ little from the broad concept of an attack aircraft. The dedicated attack aircraft as a separate class existed primarily during and after Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junius Richard Jayewardene
Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as J.R., was the leader of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1989, serving as Prime Minister from 1977 to 1978 and as the second President of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989. He was a leader of the nationalist movement in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) who served in a variety of cabinet positions in the decades following independence. A longtime member of the United National Party, he led it to a landslide victory in 1977 and served as Prime Minister for half a year before becoming the country's first executive president under an amended constitution. A controversial figure in the history of Sri Lanka, while the open economic system he introduced in 1978 brought the country out of the economic turmoil Sri Lanka was facing as the result of the preceding closed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Sri Lanka
The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union government and the Commander-in-chief#Sri Lanka, commander-in-chief of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. Origin Under the Soulbury Commission, Soulbury Constitution which consisted of the Ceylon Independence Act, 1947 and The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947, Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was known then) became a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. The List of heads of state of Sri Lanka#Monarch (1948–1972), monarch of Ceylon served as the head of state, represented by the Governor-General of Ceylon, governor-general with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, prime minister serving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pillbox (military)
A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, normally equipped with loopholes through which defenders can fire weapons. It is in effect a trench firing step, hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades, and raised to improve the field of fire. The modern concrete pillbox originated on the Western Front of World War I, in the German Army in 1916. Etymology The origin of the term is disputed. It has been widely assumed to be a jocular reference to the perceived similarity of the fortifications to the cylindrical and hexagonal boxes in which medical pills were once sold; also, the first German concrete pillboxes discovered by the Allies in Belgium were so small and light that they were easily tilted or turned upside down by the nearby explosion of even medium (240mm) shells. However, it seems more likely that it originally alluded to pillar boxes, with a comparison being drawn between the loophole on the pillbox and the letter-slot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaffna Fort
Jaffna Fort ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணக் கோட்டை, translit=Yāḻppāṇak Kōṭṭai; si, යාපනය බලකොටුව ''Yapanaya Balakotuwa'') is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1618 under Phillippe de Oliveira following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. The fort is located near the coastal village of Gurunagar. Due to numerous miracles attributed to the statue of Virgin Mary in the church nearby, the fort was named as Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão (Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres de Jafanapatão). It was captured by the Dutch under Rijcklof van Goens in 1658 who expanded it. In 1795, it was taken over by the British, and remained under the control of a British garrison till 1948. As the only large military fort in the country, due to the presence of only government and military buildings within its ramparts, it was garrisoned by a detachment of the Ceylon Army. With the onset of the Sri Lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Pedro
Point Pedro ( ta, பருத்தித்துறை, translit=Paruttittuṟai; si, පේදුරු තුඩුව, translit=Pēduru Tuḍuva) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, at the northernmost point of the island. Cotton is produced around Point Pedro in the fertile calcic red latosol soils. The eastern coast of Point Pedro forms a 3 mile wide, 20 mile long beach with sand dunes up to 100 feet high, extending to Thalayady. The porous soil has a water table deep underground with an estimated one billion litres of fresh water. The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 raised the salt content of the ground water. The tsunami destroyed parts of the town and submerged some parts with seawater up to 4 feet deep. The town came briefly under the control of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) during the early 1990s, until the Sri Lankan Army recaptured it in 1995. Etymology The place name of Point Pedro is a corruption of the Portuguese ''"Ponta das Pedras"'' meaning "the roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaly Military Base
Palaly Military Base is a military base located in Palaly, Northern Province of Sri Lanka, and the largest on the Jaffna Peninsula. The base houses the Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna and is in close proximity to the naval base SLNS Uttara at Kankasanturai and air base SLAF Palaly. The Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps The Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLMC) ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා යුද හමුදා වෛද්ය බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Yuddha Hamuda Vayidya Balakaya'') is a specialist corps in the Sri Lanka Army which speciali ... maintains a base hospital in Palaly, and hosts the 3rd Regiment of the Sri Lanka Signals Corps as well. References Sri Lankan Army bases Military installations in Northern Province, Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Four Bravo
Four Four Bravo was the call sign of a fifteen-man Sri Lankan Army patrol, deployed in the Jaffna Peninsula on July 23, 1983. The patrol was ambushed and thirteen of its members were killed by the LTTE. This incident sparked the Black July riots and is considered to be the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Background By July 1983 tension was rising in the Jaffna Peninsula and throughout the country, the TULF had decided that their Members of Parliament resign their seats and on July 21, 1983 in Parliament, V.N. Navaratnam delivered an emotional farewell address. On the July 23 was a quiet day in Jaffna, even though there were political activity in Mannar. That day at the Army Camp at Gurunagar under the command of Brigadier J. G. Balthazar, the army was preparing an ambush for a LTTE leader ''Sellakili'', who had been engaged in millitant activities. It was to be carried out by a group of Commandos with the call sign ''Four Four Charlie'', at Kondavil. Patrol Four Four Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indo-Sri Lankan Accord
The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act of 1987. Under the terms of the agreement, Importantly however, the Tamil groups, notably the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (which at the time was one of the strongest Tamil forces), had not been made party to the talks and initially agreed to surrender their arms to the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) only reluctantly. Within a few months however, this flared into an active confrontation. The LTTE declared their intent to continue the armed struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam and refused to disarm. The IPKF found itself engaged in a bloody police action against the LTTE. Further complicating the return to peace, a Marxist insurgency beg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Poomalai
Operation Poomalai (''Pūmālai'', lit. "Flower Garland"), also known as Eagle Mission 4, was the codename assigned to a mission undertaken by the Indian Air Force for airdropping supplies over the besieged town of Jaffna in Sri Lanka on 4 June 1987 to support the Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Jaffna was then under blockade by Sri Lankan troops as a part of Colombo's offensive against the Tamil separatist movement. Concerned over alleged violations of interests of the Tamils, who had broader support among the Tamil population of South India as well as the government, India attempted to negotiate a political settlement but the Indian offers had been rebuffed by Colombo. As civilian casualties grew,Sri Lanka in 1987: Indian Intervention and Resurgence of the JVP. Pfaffenberger B. Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1987: Part II. (Feb., 1988), pp. 139 calls grew within India to intervene in what was increasingly seen in the Indian (and the Tamil) me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
