Battle of Kilinochchi (1998)

The Battle of Kilinochchi (codenamed Operation Unceasing Waves II by the Tamil Tigers) occurred in September 1998 over the control of the city of Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka (geographical coordinates 9.38333°N, 80.4°W). The battle was fought between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Prelude
On 25 July, 1996 Mullaitheevu base fell into the Tiger's hands. Immediately in 26 July, 1996 the Srilankan Army launched Operation Sath Jeya in the intention of capturing kilinochi. After 70 days of fighting, SLA captured Kilinochi on 22 September, 1996. This caused more than 1.5 lakhs people to be displaced.

The battle
On September 27, 1998, the LTTE launched operation Unceasing Waves II, an offensive against the town of Kilinochchi. They assaulted the Sri Lankan Army's Kilinochchi complex, ten miles south of the Elephant Pass base. The following day, the Tigers captured a distance of five miles on Jaffna-Vavuniya road. Elephant Pass and Paranthan military bases, further north, were also attacked to block reinforcements. Fighting continued until September 29, 1998, when Kilinochchi finally fell to the Tigers.

Casualties
The Sri Lankan Army claimed that up to 520 Tigers and 443 SLA soldiers were killed in the close-quarters and hand-to-hand fighting over two days. On the same day that Kilinochchi fell to the Tigers the city of Mankulam, which was rebel-held, fell to the SLA. But the Sri Lankan opposition party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe challenged this claim in the parliament on 10 October 1998 by providing a casualty figure of over 1250 dead and 2000+ wounded between 27 and 29 September and 1900 SLA troops had died by September 30 when the fighting had eased. But the government nor the SL military had not denied this claim. Mr. Wickremasinghe's sources were said to be from SLA HQ and Military Intelligence.

LTTE handed over 684 bodies, which were in good condition, of the more than 1000 dead-bodies of SLA soldiers recovered from the battlefield, according to the LTTE sources in London, to SLA through ICRC in two phases. In addition to these 262 dead-bodies were recovered by the Sri Lankan military. In Colombo, hospital officials said an additional 53 soldiers have died in hospitals. A total of 989 dead bodies have been received by the Sri Lankan military.

In a heavily guarded area, representatives of various regiments spent over 20 hours identifying dead-bodies. Those who were personally identified were handed over to the next of kin whilst those who were only identified as soldiers were cremated at a close ceremony with full military honours.

Tamil People reaction
In the north, Tamils have donated blood and helped the LTTE care for wounded soldiers. People gathered in large numbers in the area to welcome the Liberation Tigers who took part in the operation with soft drinks and coconut water.

Weapons lost by SLA
The LTTE claimed to have captured 2 130 mm Artillery pieces, 1 Buffel and many military vehicles.

The SL opposition party at that time, the UNP, claimed that 4 artillery pieces, 2 T-55 tanks, 8 Buffel, and 75 assorted jeeps, trucks and tractors were lost by SLA to LTTE, though it was not clear if these referred items were destroyed or captured by the Tigers. He also added that the SLA had also lost approximately 2,500 small arms, over 2 million rounds of small arms ammunition and over 1,000 artillery rounds.