Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

B.B. Susantha Mendis, USP (1951 – 11 September 1998) was a senior Sri Lanka Army general, who was the former Commanding Officer of 51-2 Brigade based in

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 ...

.Heroes who made the supreme sacrifice
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Early life and education

Mendis was educated at St Sylvester's College, Kandy.

Military career

He joined the Sri Lanka Army as an officer cadet and received his basic officer training at the

Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...

. He was commissioned as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Sinha Regiment The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry re ...

. During his career he held many positions within the army including that of Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, Sri Lanka Singh Regiment. Brigadier Mendis was Commanding Officer of 51-2 Brigade attached to the 51 Division.

Death

On 11 September 1998, he attended a meeting at the office of the Mayor of Jaffna to discuss traffic arrangements in the town of Jaffna. The

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

(LTTE) detonated a bomb in the office killing 12 persons including Brigadier Mendis, Mayor

Pon Sivapalan Pon Sivapalan (1952 – 11 September 1998) was a Sri Lankan politician. Sivapalan succeeded Sarojini Yogeswaran as mayor of Jaffna after she was assassinated in 1998 by the LTTE. Like Yogeswaran, Sivapalan belonged to the Tamil United Liberat ...

, SSP Chandra Perera, Captain Ramanayaka, the Brigadier's Principal Staff Officer (PSO) and four police officers. Also killed were S Pathamanathan, Commissioner for Rehabilitation of the Jaffna Municipality and Architect Mallika Rajaratnam. Brigadier Mendis was posthumously promoted to the rank of

External links

Official Website of Sri Lanka ArmyMinistry of Defence, Sri LankaMIC-Military Intelligence Corps

References

* ttp://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_98/asia.htm Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1998 Asia Overview* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040712041427/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG10Df03.html Tigers send a deadly message, By Sudha Ramachandran*
The Larry Wijeratne That I Knew
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendis, Susantha 1950 births 1998 deaths Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel Assassinated military personnel Assassinated Sri Lankan people Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1998 Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War