Operation Jayasikurui
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2008) |
| Operation Jayasikurui | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Sri Lankan civil war | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Military of Sri Lanka | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5 divisions[1] | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1,350 killed; 4,000 wounded (SLA claim) 3,000+ killed (LTTE claim)[2] |
3,614 killed; 1,899 wounded (SLA claim)[1] 1,500 killed (LTTE claim)[2] | ||||||
Operation Jayasikurui (Certain Victory in Sinhala) was a Sri Lankan military operation launched on May 13, 1997, and lasted until it was called off in 1999. The primary objective of this operation to clear out a land route to the government held Jaffna peninsula (which had no land supply routes) through territory held by the LTTE by linking the government held towns of Vavuniya and Kilinochchi[1]. At that time it was the largest military operation under taken by the Sri Lankan military.
Background
Following Operation Riviresa in 1995 the Sri Lankan military gained control over the Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE withdrew to the jungles of the Wanni from where in 1996 they launched an attack on an isolated Sri Lanka Army (SLA) garrison in Mullaitivu. After the Battle of Mullaitivu the LTTE gain control over the Mullaitivu district, since the government didn't reestablish a base due to the lack of a land supply route to it. But instead on the requests of the deputy minister of defence General Anurudha Ratwatte the military began to plan a large scale operation to open a land route to Jaffna.
The Battle
The operation launched on May 13, 1997 with the 53rd division spear heading the offensive along with the 54th, 55th, 56th and 21st Divisions.[1] It was preceded by a massive artillery and aerial bombardment with the SLA breaking out of their fortifications at Vavuniya and Manal Aru and pushed into the LTTE-controlled Vanni.[2]
The stated objective of the operation was to capture the A9 highway, running from Vavuniya to the Jaffna peninsula, thereby allowing the establishment of a main supply route (MSR) to the SLA's isolated Jaffna garrison. It was also meant to engage and draw the LTTE out of its secure jungle bases. Then the Tigers could be crippled, if not destroyed, by the SLA's superior firepower. The SLA wanted to diminish the strength of the LTTE by the end of the year so they could fight only a low-intensity guerrilla war.[2]
The operation was very ambitious from the start, thus requiring large amounts of troops for both offensive operations and for the defense of the captured territory. As a result units of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force were deployed for ground operations in support of the SLA[1].
However, the operation didn't manage to accomplish even half of its objectives. Exactly a year later, by mid-May 1998, the operation completely stalled. The critical A9 (between Mankulam and Kilinochchi) highway remained firmly in LTTE hands. It was planned that the highway will fall swiftly, but it didn't. Yet the battle for the A9 was bloody, the LTTE admitted to losing some 1,300 fighters in the defence of the road.[2]
At the beginning of the operation the Tigers used, for the first time in the war, artillery captured from the SLA during the Battle of Mullaitivu. They hit the advancing military columns and stiff Tiger resistance. When the SLA captured the three initial objectives of Mannakulam, Omanthai and Nedunkerni towns, the operation was already behind schedule[1]. As the two columns from Omanthai and Nedunkerni moved towards Puliyankulam in a pincer movement, the LTTE launched its first major counter-attack. LTTE commandos penetrated deep behind SLA lines to smash a major staging area, destroying vast quantities of supplies and killing dozens of troops[citation needed]. Puliyankulam was meant to be the linking up point for the twin prongs of the SLA assault. However, the LTTE had built very effective defenses at the village and after three months of heavy fighting the SLA had to withdraw after sustaining hundreds of casualties and dozens of tanks destroyed[citation needed]. The defenders of Puliyankulam had irrevocably delayed the SLA's advance and the operation could no longer be completed on time[2].
Also, the LTTE staged a number of counter attacks against SLA positions throughout the campaign. One such counter attack was during June 1997, when the Tigers launched attacks on the SLA-held towns of Thandikulam and Omanthai. Pro-LTTE website claim that the attacks left 700 SLA soldiers dead and some 1,500 wounded in contrast to only 165 killed rebels[2].
In addition on December 4 1997, the SLA garrison at Mannakulam was also attacked. 146 SLA soldiers were killed along with unknown number of LTTE dead in the heavy fighting.[3]
Aftermath
Operation Jayasikurui end after 19 months in 1999 when it was called off by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The operation had failed to achieve its goal of gaining a land route to Jaffna, but had gained the towns of Mannakulam, Omanthai and Nedunkerni. However in the process lost several areas to the LTTE including the town of Kilinochchi and the LTTE claims to have captured a 122mm artillery piece (taking its total to 5), 81mm and 60mm mortars, machine guns, RPG launchers and assault rifles[2].
The human cost of the operation was high with both sides sustaining heavy casualties. The government admitted to losing around 1,350 soldiers since the start of the operation, though some independent western analysts thought that the figure could be actually be as much as 3,000.[2] The military claims to have killed 3,614 and 1,899 wounded LTTE carders during the operation[1].
See also
References
External links
- Sri Lanka Army
- Pro-rebel