Four Four Bravo

Four Four Bravo ambush

Date	July 23, 1983
Location	Thirunelveli, Jaffna Peninsula
Result	Successful LTTE ambush

Belligerents

LTTE

Sri Lanka Army

Sri Lanka Light Infantry

Commanders and leaders

Velupillai Prabhakaran
Sellakili

Second Lieutenant Vaas Gunawardene †

Strength

Casualties and losses

1 (Sellakili)

1 officer & 12 soldiers died, 2 injured

Sri Lanka Army

Four Four Bravo was the call sign of a fifteen-man Sri Lankan Army patrol, deployed in the Jaffna Peninsula on July 23, 1983. The patrol was ambushed and thirteen of its members were killed by the LTTE. This incident sparked the Black July riots and is considered to be the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

By July 1983 tension was rising in the Jaffna Peninsula and throughout the country, the TULF had decided that their Members of Parliament resign their seats and on July 21, 1983 in Parliament, V.N. Navaratnam delivered an emotional farewell address. On the July 23 was a quiet day in Jaffna, even though there were political activity in Mannar. That day at the Army Camp at Gurunagar under the command of Brigadier J.G. Balthazar, the army was preparing an ambush for a LTTE leader Sellakili, who had been engaged in terrorist activities. It was to be carried out by a group of Commandos with the call sign Four Four Charlie, at Kondavil.

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 First 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 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.

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Wikipedia