Second Battle of Elephant Pass

Part of the Sri Lankan civil war
Operation Unceasing Waves III

Date	22–23 April 2000
Location	Elephant Pass, Sri Lanka
Result	Tamil Tiger victory

Belligerents

Military of Sri Lanka

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Commanders and leaders

Srilal Weerasooriya

Velupillai Prabhakaran
Balraj
Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan
Karuna Amman

Strength

17,500

1,200

Casualties and losses

204 killed
357 wounded

150 killed

The Second Battle of Elephant Pass (code-named Operation Unceasing Waves III (ஓயாத அலைகள் மூன்று)[1] by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), was a battle fought in April 2000 for the control of the Sri Lankan military base in Elephant Pass, Jaffna.

In 1991 the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) made their first attempt to take the Elephant Pass base. The attack was a failure, as troops led by Col. Sarath Fonseka held on despite the overwhelming odds and the subsequent Operation Balavegaya. The Tigers suffered over 1,000 casualties. Given these circumstances, LTTE leader Prabakaran changed his strategy to take Elephant Pass by gradually encircling and weakening the troops inside, cutting off supplies and, in effect, strangling the base. The idea was to avoid a frontal assault that would have led to the loss of many LTTE lives, since the army had numerical and logistical superiority. The Elephant Pass isthmus is of strategic importance, as it links the northern mainland known as Wanni with the Jaffna Peninsula. The Jaffna-Kandy road, the A-9 Highway and the railway line to Jaffna run through Elephant Pass, making the narrow strip of land in a sense the gateway to Jaffna. Elephant Pass was thought to be an impregnable military complex. Before the battle the LTTE seized the southern defenses around the base and then severed the sea link to it by capturing the area around Vettilaikerny and cutting the main northern highway, threatening to completely isolate the base.

The first stage of the LTTE campaign to take control of the peninsula was launched on 11 December 1999. The camps at Vettilaikerny and Kattaikadu on the east coast and Pullaveli to the north of Elephant Pass were taken in a joint land/sea operation. Meanwhile, the 53rd Division of the Sri Lanka Army was brought in to relieve the pressure on the 54th Division deployed in the Elephant Pass sector. The 53rd was an elite force that had been trained by the United States and Pakistan. It had a series of commanding officers, including Brig. Gamini Hettiaratchy, Gen. Sisira Wijeysinghe, Brig. Sivali Wanigaseker and Brig. Egodawela. On 22 April 2000 the LTTE attacked the twin complexes of Iyakachchi and Elephant Pass, pounding the government positions. The LTTE's veteran Black Tiger units stormed into the Iyakkachchi military base in the early hours of the morning in a multi-pronged assault and overran the well-fortified camp after several hours of intense fighting. LTTE rebels penetrated the central base, destroying several artillery pieces, tanks, armored vehicles and ammunition dumps. With the fall of Iyakachchi and the collapse of the command structure of its defending troops, LTTE combat units moved swiftly and stormed into Elephant Pass from different directions. By late evening Army Command decided to evacuate all of its positions in Elephant Pass and ordered a new defensive line further to the north. The defense establishment's decision to move the troops out of the Elephant Pass base was, however, forced on it primarily by a shortage of drinking water. The camp was equipped with machinery for desalination of water, but it had broken down and not been repaired.

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