Battle of Jaffna (2006)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Jaffna (2006)
partof=the Sri Lankan civil war


caption=
date=August 11, 2006 - October 29, 2006
place=Jaffna, Sri Lanka
casus=
territory=
result=Stalemate
combatant1=
combatant2= Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
commander1=
commander2=
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=300+ killed, 800+ wounded (According to Sri Lankan Government claims)
casualties2=700-1,100 killed (According to Sri Lankan Government claims)
notes=

The Battle of Jaffna was a battle fought in two phases in August and October 2006 for the Jaffna peninsula. It was the fourth battle for the peninsula since the start of the war.

The Battle

Tamil Tiger offensive

On August 11, 2006 fighting was renewed for control of the Jaffna peninsula, after six years of a World War One-like stalemate position. The city of Jaffna had been cut off by land from the rest of Sri Lanka after the Tigers (LTTE) overrun the Elephant Pass base in early 2000. The only way the city was receiving supplies and fresh troops was by sea. An LTTE offensive was conducted against a city held by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) of Jaffna from their positions. Initially the Tigers broke through SLA positions and advanced north toward Jaffna, but after 10 hours of fierce fighting they were beaten back and returned to their original positions. The Sri Lankan government claimed that up to 700 rebels and 150 soldiers were killed in only 5 days of fighting by August 16. Another 300 soldiers were wounded. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2006Aug17/0,4675,SriLankaViolence,00.html FOXNews.com - Fighting Escalates in Northern Sri Lanka ] ] [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=25186 Al Jazeera English - Archive - Tigers Killed In Jaffna Weapons Search ] ]

LA offensive

Two months later, on October 28, an army offensive was launched from the city against rebel territory. SLA troops advanced only a few hundred meters into LTTE territory when they were hit by heavy fire. By the next day the SLA offensive was broken. It resulted in the biggest loss of life for the military in four years with 129 soldiers killed and 519 wounded. The rebels claimed that they lost only 22 fighters, while the army said that they killed 400 Tigers. Nevertheless the army suffered a humiliating defeat at a time when moral was at an all-time low among their troops. During this time the army accused the Tigers of massacaring 74 soldiers from a unit that was surrounded and captured. The Tigers denied it. [ [http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/13/stories/2006101315530100.htm The Hindu : Front Page : 478 killed in Jaffna peninsula ] ] [ [http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/index.html Srilanka Assessment 2008 ] ]

Aftermath

Whatever the number of dead and wounded neather side gained any ground and both sides were back where they started from by the end of the battle. In all, the government of Sri Lanka claimed that 700-1,000 LTTE fighters were reported killed along with more than 300 soldiers in the period from August 11 to October 29.

References