Battle of Mullaitivu (1996)

Back in June 1990 the Sri Lankan military started expanding its military base at Mullaitivu, forcing the entire population of the town of Mullaitivu to flee.[13] The base expanded over the years to incorporate the entire town.[14] It became one of the largest military bases in Sri Lanka, occupying an area of 2,900m by 1,500m with a perimeter of 8,500m.[14][15] The base was surrounded by the sea to the east, the Nanthi Kadal lagoon to west and dense vegetation to the north and south.[14]

The base was isolated with the nearest base being at Manal Aru and Weli Oya, some 35 km to the south.[16][17] There was no overland supply route to the base and all supplies had to brought in by sea and air, something that the navy and air force struggled with.[18] Brigadier Kumban Bohran, Brigade Commander, 25 "Mullaitivu" Brigade had strengthened the Mullaitivu base in 1995 and a contingency plan was drawn up in the event of an overnight attack.[19] Under the plan reinforcements would arrive by sea and air the following morning.[19] Radars and two generators, one acting as a back-up, were installed.[19]

The base was responsible for monitoring the Sea Tigers, the LTTE's naval division, and smuggling.[14] It was the headquarters of the army's 25 Brigade and was under the command of Colonel Lawrence Fernando who was the officiating brigade commander[20][lower-alpha 1]. The 25 Brigade consisted of two infantry battalions, which were the 6th battalion of the Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment (6VIR), commanded by Major T. R. A. Aliba, and the 9th battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (9SLSR) commanded by Major W. M. S. Gunarathna. Stationed at the base was a detachments of the 4th Field Regiment, Sri Lanka Artillery armed with two 122 mm Type 54 howitzers, as well as other support untis.[19] The base's strength was 1,407 just prior to the battle (1,268 army; 9 navy; 49 police; 81 civilians).[19]

The LTTE believed that the Sri Lankan military were planning to attack Kilinochchi in mid July 1996.[19] In order to forestall such an attack the LTTE started preparing plans to attack the military base in Mullaitivu.[19] However, in order to divert attention away from Mullaitivu, the LTTE started amassing cadres near the military bases at Elephant Pass and Pooneryn.[19] In late June 1996 they started moving coffins within sight of military observation posts in order to raise suspicions in the military.[19]

The LTTE's preparations took many weeks to complete, with carders from Charles Anthony Brigade and the Jeyanthan Brigade[21][22] joining a force that was training to attack military base, practicing on mock ups of the base.[19] LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran had been personally involved in the preparations for the attack which was coded named Operation Unceasing Waves.[23] Colonel Balraj was responsible for co-ordinating the LTTE operation.[24]

In May 1996 the military monitored a large build up of LTTE forces near the base which was placed on a high alert.[25] The LTTE lost 5 recon soldiers during their reconnaissance mission on the base. In addition to these, they also lost 8 more recon soldiers while they were leading the Tamil Tigers' attack teams into the base complex.

At around 1:30 am on 18 July 1996 approximately 2,000[lower-alpha 2] LTTE cadres attacked the military base in Mullaitivu from the north and south whilst the Sea Tigers attacked from the eastern shoreline, while the whole base was subject to a constant barrage of motor fire.[16][23][26] Only troops tasked with sentry duty manned the bunkers in the fortified camp when the attack took place.[20] On the day of the attack the two most senior officers of the base, the brigade commander Colonel Lawrence Fernando and his deputy Major Gunaratne were away in Colombo on duty leave. This left Major Aliba in command of the base with Major W. C. H. Dabarera in command of the 9SLSR.[12][19] The inital wave of attackers breached the permiter, while LTTE carders who had infiltrated the base began attacking perdetermind targets within the base. These carders concentrated their attack on the artillery sites and armouries, capturing them within an hour.[14][23] They then forcused the attack on the brigade headquarters. After eight hours of heavy fighting the LTTE entered the center of the base, having over-run the forward defence lines and clusters of mini-bases.[14][23] The tall communication tower at the base was destroyed, severing radio communications between the base and the Army Headquarters. By darwn the LTTE begand removing weapons and equipment it had captured by this point.

The LTTE's attack was paused just short of the heart of the base, the operational headquarters of the 6VIR.[14][23] Fearing death if captured, soldiers from the 6VIR, hoping that they could hold on until a relief force arrived.[14] The LTTE commanders were given orders to regroup and wait for nightfall before attacking the heart of the base.[14][23]

News of the attack soon reached Colombo and within hours of the start of the attack the three service commanders - Lieutenant General Rohan Daluwatte (army), Rear Admiral Mohan Samarasekera (navy) and Air Marshall Oliver Ranasinghe (air force) - were flown to the Elephant Pass military base to oversee the rescue effort.[19] The trio, together with other senior military officers, put into motion Operation Thrivida Pahara (Operation Three Strikes) which began before dawn on 18 July 1996.[19]

Troops based in Jaffna peninsula were boarded onto a merchant vessel at Kankesanthurai and despatched to Mullaitivu, 30 kilometres (19 mi) away.[19] When they arrived in Mullaitivu they were to transfer to a naval landing craft, move closer to the shore, transfer to dinghies and make an amphibious landing on the beach-head.[19]

Meanwhile, the navy's eastern command and the air force's eastern zonal command, both based in Trincomalee, joined the rescue attempt.[19] The air force's MI-24 helicopter gunships, Pucara bombers and Kfir interceptor jets began strafing LTTE in and around the base.[19]

275 commandos from the 1st battalion of the Special Forces Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel A. F. Lafir, were despatched to the area using MI-17 troop transport helicopters.[17][19][27] They were conveyed from their base in Maduru Oya via Trincomalee and dropped at Alampil, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of the Mullaitivu base, at 4.30 pm on 18 July 1996.[16][17][19] The commandos were to establish a beach-head so that the infantry reinforcements from Jaffna peninsula could make an amphibious landing but as they advanced towards the base they were slowed down by heavy resistance from the LTTE.[16][20][17] Kfir jets were called into support the advancing commandos but they ended up firing on the commandos.[20] 20 soldiers were killed and more than 60 were wounded as a result of friendly fire.[20] Brigade commander, 25 Brigade and base commander Colonel Lawrence Fernando, who had been accompanying Lafir and the commandos, was left wounded and unconscious following an attack by Kfir jets.[20]

The LTTE, who were now fighting on two fronts, concentrated their efforts on the base which was entirely captured by the evening of 18 July 1996, overrunning the last pockets of resistance.[14]

The 2nd battalion of the Special Forces Regiment, led by Colonel Raj Vijayasiri, who had been carrying out operations in Kudumbimalai/Thoppigala, were despatched on the evening of 18 July 1996, via Punanai and Trincomalee, to support the 1st battalion.[19][27] The 2nd battalion managed to make radio contact with a group of isolated troops inside the base.[19] Lafir was fatally wounded on the morning of 19 July 1996 when shrapnel from mortar fire pierced his brain - he died later that morning.[17] 36[lower-alpha 3] other commandos were killed whilst 60 more were wounded.[19]

As 18 July 1996 drew to a close the three service commanders re-located to Trincomalee.[19] The Joint Operations Headquarters, which had been functioning from Anuradhapura, was moved temporarily to SLAF China Bay near Trincomalee.[19]

After much delay, the infantry reinforcements from Jaffna peninsula reached the high seas off Mullaitivu at dawn on 19 July 1996 but it was afternoon when they began moving towards the coast, escorted by navy patrol boats.[19] At around 4.30pm the SLNS Ranaviru, one of the escort vessels, was surrounded by six Sea Tigers boats.[19][26] The Ranaviru managed to destroy two Sea Tigers boats before a third rammed into the Ranaviru, causing it to explode and killing 36 sailors on board.[16][26] Only seven bodies could be recovered from the seas in the ensuing gun battle.[19] The attempts to land troops by sea were aborted.[19]

MI-17 helicopters trying to drop troops near Alampil encountered heavy resistance from the LTTE so a decision was made to drops troops at another location.[19] On 20 July 1996 one of the MI-17 helicopters sustained damage to its fuel pipeline following fire from LTTE but managed to safely return to a neighbouring base.[19]

The two Special Forces Regiment battalions eventually linked up and established a beach-head 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Mullaitivu.[19][20] The navy landed troops belonging to the 2nd battalion of the Commando Regiment, 6th battalion of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry and 7th battalion of the Gemunu Watch at the beach-head on 21 July 1996.[27][19] The troops came under heavy mortar fire from the LTTE and it wasn't until 23 July 1996 that they started advancing, under heavy LTTE fire, towards the base.[19] When they reached the southern perimeter of the base they discovered that all the buildings inside the base had been razed to the ground.[19] There was unbearable stench of decayed and dismembered bodies and many of the troops felt physically sick.[19] There was a fear that the LTTE had mined and booby trapped the base.[20] The troops also faced resistance from LTTE positions in the northern and western ends of the base.[20]

Soon after the attack, the Ministry of Defence increased security bringing the alert level to maximum in the capital Colombo and around the island due to the LTTE declaring the week as Black July to commemorate the Black July riots.[28] On 24 July, the LTTE placed suitcase bombs in four carriages in a commuter train near Dehiwala killing 64 civilians and wounding 400 others.[29]

The government wanted to hold onto the base and rebuild it but this was opposed by senior military commanders who didn't want to divert resources to maintain and defend an isolated outpost which was vulnerable to another LTTE attack.[12] They wanted to abandon the base to prevent further loss and so orders were given to abandon the rescue operation and withdraw the troops, which took place on 24 and 25 July 1996.[12][19][20] The withdrawal also faced problems and in one instance a large group of soldiers were left stranded on the beach and were all killed by the LTTE.[19]

Over the next few weeks two officers and 62 soldiers returned to safety.[19] Some had hidden up coconut trees or shallow wells before escaping.[19][30] Some had trekked through jungles to reach the safety of military bases at Kokkutuduwai, Weli Oya and Elephant Pass.[19] One soldier had managed to swim, under LTTE fire, to a naval patrol boat only for his identity to be scrutinised heavily before being allowed on board.[19]

Iqbal Athas in his Sunday Times 'Situation report' on 13 October 1996 stated that per a Ministry of Defence source the LTTE had executed 207 prisoners of war after one of the POWs hurled a grenade, killing at least six LTTE cadres.[19] Asia Week reported that some of the soldiers who survived had told the board of inquiry that they had watched LTTE cadres walking through the camp following the battle and summarily execute wounded captives.[40] The US State Department stated that the LTTE killed over 1,500 government troops, including those who tried to surrender.[41]

In 2019, 23 years of the battle, relatives of the missing service personal claimed that 600 to 700 soldiers had surrendered and had never been heard of again, including Major Janaka Kasthuriarachchi, the Brigade Major of 25 Brigade.[42] In one case, an officer who managed to swim to a navy vessel claimed that he witnessed the execution of soldiers who surrender at the beach by the LTTE.[14]

The LTTE removed the contents base armoury. In Parliament opposition member of parliment Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena tabled a list of weapons lost as two 122mm howitzers with a range of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), two 120mm mortars, fifteen 81 mm mortars, thirty two 60mm mortars, eleven Two-inch mortars, three RPG 7 rocket launchers, four 12.7 heavy machine guns, fifteen multi purpose machine guns, 108 general purpose machine guns, 1654 Type 56 assault rifles, 238 Type 81 assault rifles, four FNC sniper weapons, five Pakistani manufactured A 3 rifles, twenty three 40mm grenade launchers and two flame throwers.[43][12][11] Besides the weaponry, the LTTE also captured communication equipment, naval boats and armoured vehicles such as 2 Buffels and One Unicorn APC.[44] The value of the military equipment removed by the LTTE was put in excess of US$20 million, with Dr Jayawardena telling parliament that the equipment lost was worth over Rs 2,73 billion.[11] The haul was considered too much for the LTTE's small number of cadres to handle.[44]

Colonel A. F. Lafir was awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, posthumously.

Daluwatte appointed a three-member court of inquiry (Major General Patrick Fernando, chair; Major General E. H. Samaratunga; and Brigadier Gamini Hettiarachchi) to inquire into how and why the defences at Mullaitivu failed and to estimate the loss of equipment.[19] The court sat in Colombo and Anuradhapura and heard evidence from those involved including most of those who managed to escape from the base.[19] The inquiry's findings were kept secret.[54] A naval court of inquiry headed by Rear Admiral H. C. A. C. Thisera also took place.[19]

Lafir was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the highest decoration awarded by the Sri Lankan military.[55][56]

In 1998 military intelligence revealed that Captain Suresh Raj, officer commanding the artillery detachment based at Mullaitivu, had assisted the LTTE overrun the base and thereafter training LTTE carders to fire artillery.[57][58]

The army recaptured the town of Mullaitivu in January 2009 following the Battle of Mullaitivu (2009).

The army unveiled a war memorial on 18 July 2010 for 1,163 troops killed during what it called the "Mullaitivu debacle".[59] The monument is located inside the Security Forces Headquarters – Mullaitivu complex.[35]