Eelam War I

Main article: Sri Lankan Civil War
Eelam War I
Part of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Date
  • 23 July 1983 – 29 July 1987 (1983-07-23 – 1987-07-29)
    (4 years and 6 days)
Location
Sri Lanka
Result Peace deal negotiated by India, and arrival of Indian peacekeepers
Belligerents

 Sri Lanka

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Commanders and leaders
Sri Lanka J.R. Jayewardene
Lt. Gen T. I. Weerathunga
Lt. Gen Nalin Seneviratne		 Velupillai Prabhakaran

Eelam War I (23 July 1983 - 29 July 1987) is the name given to the initial phase of the armed conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE.[1]

Although tensions between the government and Tamil militant groups had been brewing since the 1970s, full-scale war did not break out until an attack by the LTTE on a Sri Lanka Army patrol in Jaffna, in the north of the country, on July 23, 1983, which killed 13 soldiers.[2] The attack, and the subsequent riots in the south (dubbed Black July), are generally considered the start of the conflict. The fighting continued until 1985 when peace talks were held between the two sides in Thimphu, Bhutan in hopes of seeking a negotiated settlement.[3] The peace talks proved as fruitless and fighting soon resumed.

On May 17, 1986, the Sri Lankan military launched an offensive to take control of the Jaffna peninsula but was met with fierce resistance from the LTTE which forced the Sri Lankan Army to withdraw after three days of intense fighting. Thereafter, the Sri Lankan military strategy shifted to mortar shelling and aerial bombing which drove the Tamil population out of the eastern coast of the Jaffna peninsula.[4]

In 1987, the Vadamarachchi Operation of the Sri Lankan military had cornered the LTTE in Jaffna, on the tip of the island, and were confident of bringing an end to the conflict. However, due to internal pressure, specifically concern about the 50 million Tamils living in India, the Indian government called for a halt to the offensive. After the request was snubbed by Sri Lanka, the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered a flotilla of ships be sent to relieve the economic embargo imposed on the population in Jaffna. After the convoy was blocked by the Sri Lanka Navy, India instead chose to airdrop supplies to the besieged city in a mission codenamed Operation Poomalai.[5]

Following the successful completion of the mission, and faced with the possibility of further involvement of the Indian military, including reports that Indian ground forces were being prepared for possible involvement in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka President J. R. Jayewardene held talks with the Indian government to resolve the dispute. As a result of the negotiations, the siege of Jaffna was lifted and the Indo-Sri-Lankan Peace Accord was signed on July 29, 1987. Sri Lankan troops then withdraw from the north of the country and handed over control over the entire area to Indian peacekeeping troops named the Indian Peace Keeping Force. This brought about an end to the first stage of the ethnic conflict.

  1. ^ Castellano, Isaac M (2015). Civil War Interventions and Their Benefits: Unequal Return. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-7391-8887-3. OCLC 1030344604.
  2. ^ Skaine, Rosemarie (2013). Suicide warfare: culture, the military, and the individual as a weapon. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-313-39864-3. OCLC 845245192.
  3. ^ O'Ballance, Edgar (1989). The cyanide war: Tamil insurrection in Sri Lanka, 1973-88. London; Washington [D.C.]; Elmsford, N.Y., USA: Brassey's (UK) ; Pergamon Press [distributor for the U.S. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-08-036695-1. OCLC 1000745010.
  4. ^ Parthasarathy, Malini (June 13, 1986). "A military and political misadventure". Frontline. pp. 17–20.
  5. ^ Weisman, Steven R. (5 June 1987). "India Airlifts Aid To Tamil Rebels". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2014.