Mullaitivu ( ta, முல்லைத்தீவு, translit=Mullaittīvu; si, මූලදූව, translit=Mūladūva) is the main town of
Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of
Northern Province, Sri Lanka
The Northern Province ( ta, வட மாகாணம் ''Vaṭa Mākāṇam''; si, උතුරු පළාත ''Uturu Paḷāta'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The province ...
. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early twentieth century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing vessels transporting goods between
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
and
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
. The town has a
District Secretary A Government Agent (GA) or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public servic ...
's office, many other government institutions and schools located in and around the area.
History
During the
Kandyan Wars, the British
government house
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
in Mullaitivu was attacked by forces of
Pandara Vanniyan
Pandara Vanniyan ( ta, பண்டார வன்னியன், Paṇṭāra Vaṉṉiyaṉ, si, වන්නි බණ්ඩාර, Vanni Baṇḍāra) was a Tamil Chieftain who ruled in Vanni Nadu in 18th century AD. He is referred to b ...
and
Dissava of Nuwara Kalawiya and lay siege to the fort. Captain Drieberg with his force of Malays escaped from the fort in boats and reached Jaffna.
During the
Sri Lankan Civil War, Mullaitivu became an isolated base for the Sri Lankan armed forces. In a pitched battle the
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
succeeded in
over running the base in 1996. Following this the Sri Lankan armed forces withdrew from Mullaitivu which allowed the LTTE to gain control of the area. It was damaged by the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
with a large loss of life. The
Sri Lankan Army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம்
, image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army
, start_date ...
took control of the town on January 25, 2009, in the
Battle of Mullaitivu in its offensive against the LTTE.
Security Forces Headquarters – Mullaitivu was established on June 5, 2009 in the town.
Gallery
File:TRO center, Mullaitivu.jpg, Welfare office, 2004
File:Sri Lanka Mullaitivu Kallapadu GTM School.jpg, Mullaitivu Kallapadu GTM School
File:Loading LTTE cadres in calm sea.jpg, LTTE sea tigers loading a ship at Mullaitivu, 2002
File:SLMM car in Mullaitivu Sri Lanka.jpg, Norwegian monitoring mission during the ceasefire, 2006
External links
Towns in Mullaitivu District
Maritimepattu DS Division
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