BackSri Lanka’s ethnic conflict
Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict
PremiumFinal assault? Sri Lanka troops say they want to capture LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran dead or alive who, defence officials feel, is “very much” in the northern Wanni region. Photographs by Bloomb
Sri Lanka is close to finishing at least 25 years of civil war, army officials said on Sunday after troops captured the last big town of Mullaittivu held by the Tamil Tigers. More than 70,000 people have died since 1983 and millions have been displaced.
1972
• Velupillai Prabhakaran, a school drop-out, forms a Tamil militant group, which in 1976 changes its name to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
23July 1983
• LTTE ambushes an army patrol, killing 13 soldiers in the Jaffna peninsula and sparking anti-Tamil riots elsewhere.
8 July 1985
• Sri Lanka opens first direct talks with Tamil guerrillas. Talks fail.
For more on the Sri Lankan conflict:
Also See Conflict (PDF)
Source: AFP, Reuters
Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint
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