The Special Task Force (STF) ( Sinhala: විශේෂ කාර්ය බලකාය ''Visesha Karya Balakaya'';

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

: சிறப்பு அதிரடிப் படை) is a tier 1 police tactical unit of the

Sri Lanka Police (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

specialising in clandestine and covert operations, combat and patrolling in urban areas, combat search and rescue, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, crowd control, executive protection, forward observer, hostage rescue, indirect fire, irregular warfare, jungle and mountain warfare, parachuting, psychological warfare, search and rescue people who are in distress or imminent danger from disaster. serving high-risk arrest and search warrants, special reconnaissance, support military operations, tactical emergency medical, tracking, and unconventional tactics. It was formed in 1983 not as a military force, but rather as a highly specialised armed police unit.

Function

The STF heads counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, hostage rescue, serving high-risk arrest and search warrants missions, and – as the most highly trained police organisation in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

– it would be the lead unit whenever law enforcement forces engaged the

Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE). The STF is mostly stationed in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka where the LTTE was wiped out. Some small number of units are placed in

Mannar District Mannar District ( ta, மன்னார் மாவட்டம் ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; si, මන්නාරම දිස්ත්‍රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative divisi ...

and

Vavuniya District Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municipality is administered by Vavu ...

. Other units are based in

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 provide

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

security. The STF is internationally recognised for its expertise in these areas and it is often invited to assist foreign law enforcement agencies with planning major events such as the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and in dealing with possible terrorist threats.

Formation

When the Special Task Force (STF) was formed in 1983, it comprised mainly existing policemen. It was headed by the 1960 Rome Olympian and existing Senior Superintendent of Police, Dharmasiri Weerakoon. The STF were trained by 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 ...

in the handling of

Infantry weapon Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) refers in arms control protocols to two main classes of man-portable weapons.https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_52142.htm NATO, Small arms and light weapons (SALW) and mine action (MA) * "Small arms", ...

s and were given basic training in

jungle warfare Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain. It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...

. They deeply resemble a paramilitary organisation and later separate training facilities for the Special Task Force have been established in

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

, south of

. The first

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

s formed were deployed in the North of Sri Lanka to provide additional support for police stations and to stem the LTTE separatists. The STF was enhanced considerably in 1983 when former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

(SAS) crack teams were brought in to provide specialised training in all aspects of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations. The SAS experts trained the STF troops at Katukurunda wing of the Police College, after making the training school into a sophisticated training complex. Further training was provided with assistance of

Keenie Meenie Services Keenie Meenie Services (or KMS Ltd), was a British private military contractor set up by former Special Air Service (SAS) officers in 1975. It operated as a mercenary force in countries where the United Kingdom had political interests, such as Om ...

in 1984. Later, the STF experts took over from the SAS in 1988. Today the STF has a fully-fledged training wing, regarded as one of the best in South East Asia. 11 August 1984, that the Israel Security Agency Shin Beth was involved in the training of the Sri Lankan armed forces. Many officers belonging to Israel were also involved in the training of the Sri Lankan soldiers in Colombo. Recently, the STF has received from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

P2 APCs made by Sentra Surya Ekajaya to help the unit conduct their counterinsurgency operations against the LTTE.

Operations

By 1987, heavily involved in the Sri Lankan civil war, the STF was in control of the area from Kiran to Potuvil in the

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

District. The STF was deployed in Company formation into 15 separate camps. When the

Indian Peace Keeping Force Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan ...

was moved into the Batticaloa in 1987 as part of the ongoing peace process, the STF was in complete control of Batticoloa, and had restored a level of normalcy to the area. From 1983 to 1987 when the STF was in control over Batticoloa not a single STF camp had come under attack from the LTTE. In 2019 STF involved in 2019 Kalmunai shootout.

Operation Niyathai Jaya (Definite Victory)

In its first major operation since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in 2002, Special Task Force troops launched a limited offensive named "Definite Victory" (In Sinhala: නියතයිි ජය) on January 4, 2007 against

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

rebels in the Kanchikudichcharu and Thoppigala south regions of the

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the s ...

, as a reaction to the child abductions in Bakmitiyawa,

Ampara Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. Hi ...

and abduction of two teachers and 23 Tamil children in December 2006 while they were returning from extra classes to their homes. As a result of this offensive, the elite police commandos were able to overrun more than fifteen (15) rebel camps including the Stanly Base, which was the main LTTE camp in the Ampara District and a regional intelligence and supply camp of the LTTE, Bagayadi Base, where local and foreign foodstuffs and sanitary material was stored, Janak Base, which made clothing identical to

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

and Special Task Force uniforms, Jeewan Base, which was another supply camp from which the STF was able to recover four vehicles and the Diana Base where LTTE leaders meet. This camp was furnished with luxury items which were denied to the ordinary LTTE cadres. After the fall of Stanly Base, STF troops were able to find an explosive laden truck and a motor cycle that the rebels were planning to use to carry out suicide attacks in the capital of

. And it is also reported that LTTE was housing a large number of

child soldier Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...

s conscripted by them in this camp. Other than that, STF troops were able to recover a large quantity of arms and ammunition, coffins, large number of anti-personnel mines, vehicles , satellite and radio receivers,

global positioning systems The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sys ...

power generators Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its sto ...

, boats with name and logo of the

Non Governmental Organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

", tents with the logo of "

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

" and a fully equipped hospital donated to the militants by a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

INGO named ZOA Refugee Care This NGO donated hospital is named by the tigers as Thileepan memorial hospital. STF also said that they also found a water tanker truck donated by, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) which is a front organisation of the LTTE, who collect funds especially in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

purportedly for civilians, but actually for the militant group. However, aid workers argue that the supplies must have been taken after they evacuated their office due to heavy fighting. Jeevan Thiagarajah, the head of the Consortium for Humanitarian Agencies, has stated that the matter is simply a misunderstanding. As a result of this mission STF troops able to kill four rebels and the STF commented that the militants were fleeing from the area without retaliating against their troops.

Criticism

The Special Task Force has been accused of various human rights abuses including

extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...

s and involvement in the disappearance of individuals. * According to a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

commissioned study conducted in 1997, the STF was the arresting agency in 5% of the 1219 reported cases of disappearances in the

Batticaloa district Batticaloa District ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம் ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''maḍakalapūva distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 dist ...

in North Eastern Province between 1988 and 1996. * Additionally, after a visit to Sri Lanka from 24 August to 5 September in the same year, UN Special Rapporteur Bacre Waly Ndiaye reported the existence of allegations that individuals had died "while in the custody of the Special Task Force of Sri Lanka in Colombo". * At least two incidents of extrajudicial killings involving members of the STF have also been noted by the Sri Lankan government or outside observers. Following the newest round of fighting between the government and the LTTE starting in April 1994, the mutilated bodies of between 21 and 31 Tamil males were discovered in rivers and lakes near Colombo. * On 17 August ten STF officers (and fifteen others) were charged with committing the murders, which allegedly took place at the STF headquarters in Colombo. In addition, at least 17 extrajudicial killings were carried out by Sri Lankan security forces (including the STF) in Eastern Province in retaliation for LTTE attacks. Human rights monitors determined the deceased to be civilians, but security forces maintained that they were LTTE members.

Commandants of the Special Task Force

* SP Bodhi Liayange * SP Dharmasiri Weerakoon * SSP Zerney Wijesuriya *

DIG Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock (geology), rock on the surface of Earth. Di ...

Lionel Karunasena *

Dharmasiri Weerakoon *

Nimal Gunatilleke *

Nimal Lewke *

K.M.L. Sarathchandra *

R.W.M.C.Ranawana *

J.K.R.A. Perera * SDIG M. R. Latheef *

M.G.L. Gunathilaka *DIG Waruna jayasundara

Equipment

;Land vehicles *

Unibuffel The Unibuffel is a mine-protected wheeled MRAP Infantry mobility vehicle used by the Sri Lankan military, which is an improved version of the Unicorn, made by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. More than 53 Unibuffels had been man ...

– Mine-protected APC *

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pickup trucks. They c ...

Unicorn APC The Unicorn is a MRAP used by the Sri Lankan military based on the Buffel, which is made by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Production history Initial research into producing a "Blast Protected Vehicle" armoured personnel carri ...

* Disaster Management Amphibious Multi Unit Vehicles ;Mortars * Type 84 (W84) 82 mm

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

* Type 89 60 mm mortars ;Small arms Handguns *

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...

Beretta 92 The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...

Smith & Wesson M&P The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) is a polymer- framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. Whil ...

M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...

Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...

Assault Rifles *

Type 56 The Type 56 (; literally; "Assault Rifle, Model of 1956") is a Chinese 7.62×39mm rifle. It is a variant of the Soviet-designed AK-47 (specifically Type 3) and AKM rifles.Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns''. ...

Assault rifles *

CAR-15 The Colt Automatic Rifle-15 or CAR-15 is a family of M16 rifle–based firearms marketed by Colt in the 1960s and early 1970s. However, the term "CAR-15" is most commonly associated with the Colt Commando (AKA: XM177); these select-fire carbine ...

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

QBZ-95 The Type 95 automatic rifle () or QBZ-95 is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by Norinco, and issued since 1995 as the service rifle for the People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police and various paramilitary law enforcemen ...

Sub-machine guns *

H&K MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5 ...

Submachine Gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

s *

Uzi The Uzi (; he, עוזי, Ūzi; officially cased as UZI) is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns and machine pistols first designed by Major Uziel "Uzi" Gal in the late 1940s, shortly after the establishment of the ...

s Sniper Rifles *

Heckler & Koch PSG1 The Heckler & Koch PSG1 (''Präzisionsschützengewehr'', German for "precision shooting rifle") is a semi-automatic sniper rifle designed and produced by the German company Heckler & Koch. Development This rifle is said to have been developed i ...

Sniper Rifles Grenade launchers *

M203 Grenade launcher The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil force ...

Rocket launchers *

Type 69 RPG The Type 69 85mm RPG (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, 'Hand Anti Tank Grenade Launcher'), made by Norinco, is a Chinese variant of the Soviet RPG-7. First introduced in 1972, the Type 69 is a common individual a ...

Rocket launchers (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

version of

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. ...

) Missile launchers * SA-18 Missile launcher Machine guns *

Ultimax 100 The Ultimax 100 is a Singapore-made 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan. The weapon is extr ...

LMG

References

External links

President of Sri Lanka

Government of Sri Lanka

Ministry of Defence Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Police Official Website

Official History

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080111164551/http://www.police.lk/divisions/stf.asp Sri Lanka Police Official Website excerpt
21st Commemoration of STF war heroes : 'You give us courage, fortitude to safeguard country's unity and territorial integrity'
{{Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lanka Police units Counterterrorism in Sri Lanka Indian Peace Keeping Force