Battle of Thoppigala

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Thoppigala
partof=the Sri Lankan civil war


caption=
date=April 25, 2007 - July 11, 2007
place=Thoppigala, Sri Lanka
casus=
territory=
result=Sri Lankan Army victory
combatant1=
combatant2= Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
commander1=Maj.Gen. Parakrama Pannipitiya
commander2=Swarnam / Ramesh
strength1=around 1200
strength2= around 1000
casualties1=48 killed (According to Sri Lankan Army) Fact|date=July 2008
casualties2=700-800 killed (According to Sri Lankan Army claims) Fact|date=July 2008
notes=

The Battle of Thoppigala was a battle between Sri Lankan military and LTTE fought for the control of the LTTE dominating peak called Thoppigala also known as "Baron's Cap", 40 km northwest of Batticaloa, in east of Sri Lanka, period of first half of the year 2007.

The Battle

The Sri Lankan military launched their military operation to capture the area from LTTE on April 25, 2007. The full scale jungle warfare started, and the LTTE was trying to protect their last stronghold in Eastern Sri Lanka. The SLA estimated around 1000 LTTE cadres were fighting in the area in a network of trenches and tunnels.

During the period of June 8-9, 2007 Sri Lankan army captured 4 LTTE military bases at Ibbanvila, Akkarathivu (Egodadoova), Mawadi-ode (Mahavaedi-oda), and Veppanveli (Kohomba-vaella) in Pankudavaella North, and Naarakmulla, South of the Thoppigala area. During the confrontation, around 30 LTTE cadres and 1 SLA personal died. The SLA captured 6 Multi Purpose Machine Guns (MPMG), 21 T-56 assault riffles, 4 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers, and a large quantity of Anti Personnel (AP) mines and Ammunitions.

On June 19, 2007 3 LTTE satellite camps East of Narakkamulla in the Thoppigala area were completely destroyed by the SLA. As per military sources around 25-30 LTTE were killed and a large quantity of anti-personal mines (APM's) and other military quipment were captured.

Fierce fighting erupted between the LTTE and the SLA at the final forward defence line (FDL) of LTTE, at their Beiruit complex in Narakamulla, Thoppigala area between June 22-24, 2007. The FDL was fortified with 6 bunker lines and 3 minor camps. The LTTE did not vacate their positions due to SLA's heavy barrage of artillery and tank gun fire. Finally, around 50 SLA commando's infiltrated the LTTE bunkers and killed 30 of them. Three LTTE cadres committed suicide. This series of events turned the tide of the battle of Thoppogala against the LTTE.cite web | title = Sri Lanka says 33 Tigers die in battle | publisher = Reuters | url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKCOL2375920070609 | format =html | accessdate = 2007-06-09] .

The fierce battle North of Narakamulla, in the Thoppigala area on July 6, 2007 morning, killed 6 Sri Lankan army personal including an officer called Colonel Samantha Ranathunga, and injured 7, due to heavy mortar fire by the LTTE. The Sri Lankan military retaliated with artillery and aerial bombardment to control the situation] .

After 13 years, the Sri Lankan military captured the final strong hold of LTTE in the East, Thoppigala (Baron's Cap), on the morning of July 11, 2007, nearly after a year of military action. According to the country's military history, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), with around 20,000 soldiers attacked this area in the year 1988 but failed to capture the area (at that time LTTE lead by Colonel Karuna). In 1994 the SLA withdrew their military bases from this area] .

References