Eelam War III

The Eelam War III began on 19 April 1995 when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also called Tamil Tigers) sank two Sri Lankan naval craft in Sri Lanka. This was the third armed conflict in the Sri Lankan Civil War between the military of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers. There were also Eelam Wars I and II before this conflict and Eelam war IV afterwards.

On the night of 18 July 1996 LTTE forces attacked and overran the military base at Mullaithivu.Raj K. Mehta, Lost Victory: The Rise & Fall of LTTE Supremo, V. Prabhakaran (New Delhi: Pentagon Security International, 2010), p. 146 It was the brigade headquarters of the 215 Sri Lankan Army. About 1,600 soldiers were killed or missing. In April 2000 the LTTE Sea Tigers captured Elephant Pass. This was a major victory since they had lost the last battle at Elephant Pass in 1991.Raj K. Mehta, Lost Victory: The Rise & Fall of LTTE Supremo, V. Prabhakaran (New Delhi: Pentagon Security International, 2010), p. 56 By 2001 both sides were exhausted and ended the war.Ahmed Hashim, When Counterinsurgency Wins: Sri Lanka's Defeat of the Tamil Tigers (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), p. 132 The LTTE came away with a reputation for their fighting skills. But this led to an Eelam War IV.

 Civilian killings 
 Kallarawa massacre 

On 25 May 1995, LTTE (Liberation of Tamil Tigers) killed 42 men, women, and children in Kallarawa, Sri Lanka. Everyone else who lived there escaped the bloodshed.

 Gonagala massacre 

In the Ampara District of Sri Lanka on 18 September 1999, another massacre took place. Over 50 women, men, and children were hacked to death in the middle of the night in their sleep.

 References 

 Other websites 
 Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka 
   GoSL Peace Secretariat 
LTTE Peace Secretariat

Category:Sri Lankan Civil War