A.P.N.C. De S. Vaas Gunawardene
| Vaas Gunawardene † | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 13, 1961 |
| Died | July 23, 1983 (aged 21) Thirunelveli, Jaffna Peninsula |
| Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
| Service/branch | Sri Lanka Army |
| Years of service | 1980–1983 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | Sri Lanka Light Infantry |
| Commands held | Four Four Bravo patrol |
| Battles/wars | Sri Lankan Civil War |
Second Lieutenant A.P.N.C. De Vaas Gunawardene, SLLI was a Sri Lankan Army officer who commanded the ill-fated Four Four Bravo patrol that was ambushed by the LTTE July 23, 1983. This incident sparked the Black July riots and is considered to be the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Educated at Ananda College, Colombo, Vaas Gunawardene joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1980 as an Officer cadet and received his training at the Officers Training School, Madras. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Light Infantry. In 1983 he was attached to the C Company of the First Battalion, SLLI Madagal, Jaffna.
Patrol Four Four Bravo was scheduled to leave Gurunagar (code name Four Four) at 2200 hours as a routine patrol from the C Company of the 1st Battalion of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry based at Madagal about 20 miles away. The patrol arrived at 2147 hours. It consisted of a detachment of 15 soldiers led by Second Lieutenant A.P.N.C. De S. Vaas Gunawardene. The instructions of the Brigadier Lyle Balthazar, were that the patrol should be back in Madagal before 2359 hours, if necessary shortening the prescribed route: Gurunagar - Jaffna - Naga Vihara - Nallur - Kopay - Urumpirai - Kondavil - Kokuvil - Jaffna- Kaliyan - kadu - Madagal. 2nd Lt. Gunawardene received the instructions from Major De Silva who further emphasized that the patrol must be in Madagal Camp by midnight. Four Four Bravo left Gurunagar at 2206 hours and was in radio contact every five minutes all reports indicated that Jaffna was quiet.
On the July 23, a patrol, call sign Four Four Bravo left their battalion HQ on a routine patrol. Sellakili of the LTTE was planning on getting revenge for the death of Charles Lucas Anthony aka Seelan and had observed the army patrols. That night a group of 25 LTTE men, including Velupillai Prabhakaran, Kittu, Iyer, Victor, Pulendran, Shellakili, Santhosam and Appiah gathered at Tinneveli on the Palali - Jaffna road at a point where the road was dug up to install new telecommunication equipment. Near one such excavation four mines were placed and a plunger stolen from the Kankesanturai Cement Factory was placed on the balcony of a nearby house. A machine gun nests were placed near the exploder and across the road. The force was split in two and placed on both sides of the road with Sellakili present.
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