Battle of Kilinochchi

VictorSri Lanka ArmyLt Gen Sarath Fonseka; Major General Jagath Dias (57 Division)

2009vs

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)Velupillai Prabhakaran

Kilinochchi on the A9 was the administrative capital of the LTTE’s self-declared state, with its own police, courts and peace secretariat. Its fall after two months of fighting signalled the end of the Tigers’ territory.

Date: November 2008 – 2 January 2009Where: Kilinochchi, northern Sri LankaType: Battle

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Cite

MLA

“Battle of Kilinochchi.” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-kilinochchi-2009/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Kilinochchi. Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-kilinochchi-2009/

Result

The army entered Kilinochchi on 2 January 2009, and the LTTE fell back east toward Mullaitivu.

01The Tigers’ capital

Through 2008 the army advanced into the Vanni on several fronts, taking the western coast at Mannar and pushing north toward Pooneryn. By November its divisions stood along a long earth bund the LTTE had thrown up west and south of Kilinochchi, with a ditch in front. The Tigers held it in the monsoon rains for weeks. The army broke through at several points in December, and Elephant Pass, to the north, was retaken soon after.

022 January 2009

On 2 January 2009 troops of 57 Division and Task Force 1 entered the town; President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced the capture to the nation the same day. The Tigers had already moved their people and offices east toward Puthukkudiyiruppu and Mullaitivu, taking a large part of the civilian population with them. Mullaitivu town fell later that month, and the remaining LTTE forces were pressed into a shrinking strip on the north-east coast.

Why it matters

The fall of Kilinochchi ended the LTTE as a territorial power and led straight to the final battle on the Mullivaikkal coast.