Battle of Jaffna (1995)

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Date	October 17, 1995 - December 5, 1995
Location	Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Result	Sri Lankan Army victory

Belligerents

Military of Sri Lanka

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Commanders

Major General (later General) Rohan Daluwatte,
Brigadier (later Major General) Janaka Perera

Strength

10,000

Unknown

Casualties and losses

500 killed^[1]

2,000 killed^[1]

Sri Lankan Civil War

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

The Battle of Jaffna was a battle fought from October to December 1995 for the city of Jaffna.^[2]

[edit] The Battle

The city of Jaffna had been for years a major stronghold of the LTTE. The Tigers wieved the city as the capital of their new independent state. The city was briefly recaptured by the Indian army in 1987 but was later captured again by the Tigers. The new president of Sri Lanka, Kumaratunga, initially wanted to resolve all difference with the Tamils by peacfull means but the army pressured her to order an offensive against the LTTE. On October 17, 1995, 10,000 SLA soldiers attacked the city and in a 50-day siege that lasted until December 5, 1995, up to 500 soldiers and 2,000 rebels were killed. In the end the army managed to take the city and the peninssula from the Tigers, thus cripling the LTTE, however most of the LTTE forces managed to retreat into the jungle.^[3]

[edit] Aftermath

Initially the Army stated that the battle for Jaffna ended the war and the LTTE will never again be able to fight major battles against the government. It was believed that the insurgency was at it's end. However this was not the case, which was apparent when the LTTE attacked an army detachment in Batticaloa district December 23, killing 33 troops. Military sources reported that more than 60 rebels were killed. Over the next seven months the LTTE reorganised and regrouped and in July 1996, the rebels launched Operation Unceasing Waves, which was the codename for the attack on the military base at Mullaitivu. More than 1,200 soldiers were killed and the base was destroyed. This brought back the LTTE from the brink.^[4]