Eelam War IV

Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is currently proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries (see list). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets bombed several LTTE camps around Mavil Aru anicut. The government's casus belli was that the LTTE had cut off the water supply to surrounding paddy fields in the area. The fighting resumed after a four-year ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and LTTE. Continued fighting led to several territorial gains for the Sri Lankan Army, including the capture of Sampur, Vakarai and other parts of the east. The war took on an added dimension when the LTTE Air Tigers bombed Katunayake airbase on March 26, 2007, the first rebel air attack without external assistance in history.

Eelaam War IV ended on 18 May 2009 with the Sri Lanka Army gaining control of the last bit of territory held by the LTTE and with the death of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The final few days of the war near Nandikadal Lagoon in the north east of the island saw very heavy fighting and led to Sri Lankan forces being accused of war crimes, which were denied by the government. Some 300,000 Tamil civilians who were trapped inside the war zone and prevented from escaping by the LTTE were caught in the crossfire during the final phase of the war.

Read more about Eelam War IV:  Peace Process 2002, Beginning of The War, War in East, Political Situation in North and East, Sri Lanka Pulls Out of Ceasefire, War in North, Capture of Mannar District, Battles At Sea, The Air War, The Conclusion of The War, Chronology of Towns Captured By The Government of Sri Lanka, Killings LTTE Leaders, Assassinations, Impact of War Into Civilian Life

Famous quotes containing the word war:

    Once lead this people into war and they will forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance.
    Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)