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The Thandikulam–Omanthai offensive was a battle for the control of the towns of Thandikulam and
Omanthai Omanthai is a little town in North Sri Lankan district of Vavuniya. It was the last Sri Lankan army check point which divided the Government and LTTE controlled areas used to be in Omanthai for many years. Education * Omanthai Central College ...
in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
in June 1997.


Battle

The battle began on 10 June 1997, when LTTE fighters attacked the garrison at Thandikulam. They destroyed the bridge on the edge of town so no reinforcements could arrive. While the fighting was raging an arms dump was hit by a rocket, causing a huge explosion that resulted in many casualties. Another dump was also hit shortly after and caused the same result. Helicopter gunships were sent to try to assist the besieged soldiers, but one of them was badly damaged. Finally the town fell and the Tigers held it for two days, taking everything they could. The LTTE attacked Omanthai thirteen days later. To get to Omanthai they had to go through Periyamadu, where 250 Sri Lankan soldiers were stationed. As the Tigers attacked, all of the soldiers deserted their bunkers and left a gap over long in the camp's perimeter. The Tigers took full advantage of the gap by swarming into Periyamadu and pushing their way deeper and deeper into SLA territory. Within minutes the Tigers had reached the main military base at Omanthai and headed straight for the artillery cannons. In heavy hand-to-hand combat, the Tigers took Omanthai, capturing six artillery pieces as well as several armoured vehicles.


See also

*
List of Sri Lankan Civil War battles After defeating the insurgency led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in 1971, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces were confronted with a new conflict, this time with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other Tamil militant groups. The ...
*
Operation Jayasikurui Operation Jayasikurui (''Certain Victory'' in Sinhala), was a Sri Lankan military operation launched on 13 May 1997, it lasted until 1999, when it was called off. The operation was initially launched for 6 months but cancelled after 18 mont ...
* Battle of Mullaitivu * Oddusuddan offensive


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thandikulam-Omanthai offensive Battles of Eelam War III Conflicts in 1997 1997 in Sri Lanka June 1997 in Sri Lanka Omanthai