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After defeating the insurgency led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in 1971, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces were confronted with a new conflict, this time with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other Tamil militant groups. The war escalated to the point where India was asked to intervene as a peacekeeping force. This was later seen as a tactical error, as the IPKF united nationalist elements such as the JVP to politically support the LTTE in their call to evict the IPKF. The war with the LTTE halted following the signing of a ceasefire agreement in 2002 with the help of international mediation. However, renewed violence broke out in December 2005 and following the collapse of peace talks, the army was once again involved in heavy fighting in the north and east of the country, until the LTTE's defeat in 2009.
From 1980 to 2009 the army had undertaken many operations against the LTTE rebels. The major operations conducted by the army eventually lead to the recapture of Jaffna and other rebel strongholds.
Major combat operations of the Sri Lankan Army during the Sri Lankan Civil War
Eelam War I (1983–1987)
| Operation Name | Date | Location | Purpose/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vadamarachchi Operation | June 1987 | Vadamarachchi | Partial Sri Lankan Army victory |
IPKF intervention
| Operation Name | Date | Location | Purpose/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| JVP Uprising | 1987–1990 | Sri Lankan Government victory |
Eelam War II (1990–1995)
| Operation Name | Date | Location | Purpose/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operation Thrividha Balaya | 13 September 1990 | Jaffna | |
| Operation Balavegaya I, II | 14 July – 9 August 1991 | Jaffna | |
| Operation Edibala (Mannar Vavuniya linking up operation) |
Eelam War III (1995–2002)
| Operation Name | Date | Location | Purpose/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operation Riviresa | |||
| Operation Jayasikurui | |||
| Operation Rivibala | |||
| Operation Ranagosa | |||
| Operation Rivikirana | |||
| Operation Kinihira I, II, III/IV, V/VI, VII, VIII, IX |
Eelam War IV (2006–2009)
Eastern Theatre
| Operation Name | Date | Location | Purpose/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operations in Thoppigala area |
Northern Theatre
| Operation Name | Date | Location | Purpose/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 SLA Northern offensive |
Major battles
The table below lists all major battles of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The information included in the table has been pieced together from the individual battle articles.
| Battle | Date | Location | Deaths | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLAF | LTTE | IPKF | Civilians | ||||
| Eelam War I (23 July 1983 – 29 July 1987) | |||||||
| Kokkilai Offensive | 13 February 1985 | SLA camp, Kokkilai, Mullaitivu District | 4 | 14 | SLA victory | ||
| Vadamarachchi Operation (a.k.a. Operation Liberation) |
26 May – 4 June 1987 | Vadamarachchi, Jaffna District | 33 | 631 | Partial SLA victory, Operation Poomalai | ||
| Operation Poomalai | 4 June 1987 | Jaffna, Jaffna District | Indian intervention | ||||
| Battle of Nelliady | 5 July 1987 | Nelliady, Jaffna District | 19 | 3 | Both SLA & LTTE claimed victory | ||
| Ceasefire (29 July – 11 October 1987) | |||||||
| Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War (11 October 1987 – 24 March 1990) | |||||||
| Operation Pawan | 11–25 October 1987 | Jaffna, Jaffna District | Unknown | 214 | LTTE victory | ||
| Operation Trishul | April 1988 | Northern Province | |||||
| Operation Viraat | April 1988 | Northern Province | LTTE victory | ||||
| Operation Checkmate | June 1988 | Vadamarachi, Jaffna District | IPKF victory | ||||
| Jaffna University Helidrop | 12 October 1988 | University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Jaffna District | 36 | LTTE victory and widrawal of IPKF from Sri Lanka after defeated | |||
| Eelam War II (10 June 1990 – 9 January 1995) | |||||||
| Battle of Kokavil | 27 June – 11 July 1990 | SLA camp, Kokavil, Kilinochchi District | 69 | LTTE victory | |||
| Operation Sea Breeze | September 1990 | SLA camp, Mullaitivu, Mullaitivu District | SLA victory | ||||
| Operation Thrividha Balaya | 13 September 1990 | Jaffna, Jaffna District | SLA victory | ||||
| Operation Balavegaya (a.k.a. Operation Power Force) |
14 July – 9 August 1991 | Jaffna, Jaffna District | 202–400 | 621(according to LTTE) | SLA victory | ||
| Operation Sathbala | SLA victory | ||||||
| Operation Balavegaya II | SLA victory | ||||||
| First Battle of Elephant Pass | 10 July – 9 August 1991 | SLA camp, Elephant Pass, Kilinochchi District | 202–400 | 573–1,000 | SLA victory | ||
| Battle of Janakapura | 25 July 1993 | Janakapura, Weli Oya, Mullaitivu District | 44 | Unknown | LTTE victory | ||
| Battle of Pooneryn | 11–14 November 1993 | Pooneryn, Kilinochchi District | 441 | 469 | LTTE victory | ||
| Ceasefire (9 January – 19 April 1995) | |||||||
| Eelam War III (19 April 1995 – 22 February 2002) | |||||||
| Battle of Mandaitivu | 28 June 1995 | Mandaitivu, Jaffna District | ~120 | 8–75 | LTTE victory | ||
| Battle of Weli Oya | 28 July 1995 | Weli Oya, Mullaitivu District | 2 | 330 | SLA victory | ||
| Operation Riviresa / Battle of Jaffna |
17 October – 5 December 1995 | Jaffna, Jaffna District | 500 | 2,000 | SLA victory | ||
| Battle of Mullaitivu (1996) (a.k.a. Operation Unceasing Waves) |
18–25 July 1996 | Mullaitivu, Mullaitivu District | 1,242 | 332 | LTTE victory | ||
| Operation Sath Jaya | 26 July – 3 October 1996 | Elephant Pass and Kilinochchi, Kilinochchi District | ~500 | 121 | SLA victory | ||
| Battle of Pulukunawa | 11 December 1996 | Police STF camp, Pulukunawa, Ampara District | 48 | 35 | LTTE victory | ||
| Battle of Vavunathivu | 7 March 1997 | SLA camp, Vavunathivu, Batticaloa District | 75 | 103 | LTTE victory | ||
| Operation Jayasikurui | 13 May 1997 – 9 February 1999 | Sri Lanka | 1,350 | 3,614 | LTTE victory | ||
| Thandikulam–Omanthai offensive | 10–25 June 1997 | Thandikulam & Omanthai, Vavuniya District | 700 | 165 | LTTE victory | ||
| Battle of Kilinochchi (1998) (a.k.a. Operation Unceasing Waves II) |
27–29 September 1998 | Kilinochchi, Kilinochchi District | 443 | 520 | LTTE victory | ||
| Operation Rana Gosa | 4 March – 12 May 1999 | Northern Province | SLA victory | ||||
| Oddusuddan Offensive | October – 2 November 1999 | Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu District | 800 | LTTE victory | |||
| Battle for the A-9 highway | 27 March – 20 April 2000 | A-9 Highway, Kilinochchi District | 203 | 317 | 50 | LTTE victory | |
| Second Battle of Elephant Pass (a.k.a. Operation Unceasing Waves III) |
22–23 April 2000 | SLA camp, Elephant Pass, Kilinochchi District | 204 | 150 | LTTE victory | ||
| Bandaranaike Airport attack | 24 July 2001 | Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, Gampaha District | 7 | 14 | Successful LTTE raid | ||
| Ceasefire (22 February 2002 – 26 July 2006) | |||||||
| Battle of Point Pedro (2006) | 12 May 2006 | Bay of Bengal near Point Pedro, Jaffna District | 17 | 54 | SLN victory | ||
| Eelam War IV (26 July 2006 – 18 May 2009) | |||||||
| Battle of Jaffna | 11 August – 29 October 2006 | Jaffna Peninsula, Jaffna District | 300–500 | 372(LTTE confirmed) | Stalemate | ||
| Battle of Sampur | 28 August – 4 September 2006 | Sampur, Trincomalee District | 33 | 200 | SLA victory | ||
| Attack on Galle Harbour | 18 October 2006 | Galle, Galle District | 1 | 9 | 1 | SLN victory | |
| Battle of Thoppigala | 25 April – 11 July 2007 | Kudumbimalai, Batticaloa District | 48 | 85 killed and 3 suicides | SLA victory | ||
| Battle of Point Pedro (2007) | 19 June 2007 | Bay of Bengal near Point Pedro, Jaffna District | 40 | SLN victory | |||
| Raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base | 22 October 2007 | SLAF Base Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura District | 14 | 20 | Successful LTTE raid | ||
| Battle of Delft | 25 December 2007 | Palk Strait near Neduntheevu (Delft) island, Jaffna District | 4–40 | Disputed | |||
| Battle of Vidattaltivu | 16 July 2008 | Vidattaltivu, Mannar District | 1 | 51 | SLA victory | ||
| 2008–2009 Battle of Kilinochchi | 23 November 2008 – 2 January 2009 | Kilinochchi, Kilinochchi District | SLA victory | ||||
| Battle of Mullaitivu (2009) | 2–25 January 2009 | Mullaitivu, Mullaitivu District | SLA victory | ||||
| Third Battle of Elephant Pass | 9 January 2009 | Elephant Pass, Kilinochchi District | SLA victory | ||||
| Battle of Chalai | 2–6 February 2009 | Chalai, Mullaitivu District | 12 | SLA victory | |||
| Battle of Aanandapuram | 29 March – 5 April 2009 | Ananthapuram, Mullaitivu District | 623 | SLA victory | |||
| Battle of Puthukkudiyirippu | 2–5 April 2009 | Puthukkudiyirippu, Mullaitivu District | 420 | SLA victory | |||
| Truce (13–15 April 2009) | |||||||
| Final Battle of the Sri Lankan Civil War | 7–19 May 2009 | Puthukkudiyirippu, Mullaitivu District | SLA victory | ||||
| Government of Sri Lanka declares victory and end of the war (19 May 2009) | |||||||
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