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Sri Lankan Civil War

Contemporary

The Sri Lankan Civil War was fought from 1983 to 2009 between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, an insurgent group seeking an independent Tamil state in the island's north and east, amid longstanding tension between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. The Tamil Tigers became known internationally for pioneering the large-scale, organized use of suicide bombing as a battlefield and assassination tactic, and the war passed through several rounds of failed negotiation and ceasefire over its quarter-century course. The conflict ended in May 2009 when government forces, in a final offensive that also caused significant civilian casualties drawing international scrutiny, cornered and killed Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, effectively destroying the organization and ending the insurgency.

Facts
Start Year
1983 1
End Year
2009 1
Combatants
Sri Lanka; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 1
Outcome
Sri Lankan government victory 1
Classification
Death Toll Min
80,000 to 100,000 1
Conflict Type
Civil War 1
Sri Lankan Civil War
Filter Results3 entries

9K38 Igla

Sri Lankan Civil War

FIM-92 Stinger

Sri Lankan Civil War

Stinger Missile

Sri Lankan Civil War
Connections

Uses

25-Pounder Gun, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Ordnance QF 25-pounder
9K38 Igla, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: 9K38 Igla
AK-74, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: AK-74
Alvis Saracen, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Alvis Saracen
Browning Hi-Power, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Browning Hi-Power
BTR-80, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: BTR-80
Daimler armoured car, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Daimler armoured car
DShK, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: DShK
Ferret armoured car, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Ferret armoured car
FIM-92 Stinger, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: FIM-92 Stinger
FN MAG, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: FN MAG
Heckler & Koch HK69A1, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Heckler & Koch HK69A1
Heckler & Koch MP5, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Heckler & Koch MP5
M18 Claymore Mine, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Claymore mine
MP5 Submachine Gun, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Heckler & Koch MP5
QBZ-95, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: QBZ-95
Stinger Missile, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: FIM-92 Stinger
T-54/T-55, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
T-55, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
T-72, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: T-72
Type 54 pistol, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Type 54 pistol
Type 56 Assault Rifle, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Type 56 assault rifle
Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier), Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier)
Type 81 assault rifle, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Type 81 assault rifle
Uzi, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: Uzi
W85 heavy machine gun, Weapons Systems
Source Wikipedia: W85 heavy machine gun
Sources
1. Sri Lankan civil war - Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    The Sri Lankan civil war was fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) led by Velupillai Prabhakaran.
  • Infobox, combatant1/combatant2
    Sri Lanka
  • Infobox, result
    Sri Lankan government victory
  • Lead text
    The Sri Lankan civil war was fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009.
  • History section
    Immediately following the end of war, on 20 May 2009, the UN estimated a total of 80,000-100,000 deaths.
  • Lead section
    Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the island in response to continuous discrimination and violent persecution against Sri Lankan Tamils by the predominantly Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka.
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Wikipedia: Uzi
WikipediaUses: Uzi, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: AK-74
WikipediaUses: AK-74, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: Claymore mine
Uses: M18 Claymore Mine, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: Heckler & Koch MP5
  • Uses: MP5 Submachine Gun, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'
  • Uses: Heckler & Koch MP5, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'
View the Source
Wikipedia: Browning Hi-Power
WikipediaUses: Browning Hi-Power, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: T-72
WikipediaUses: T-72, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: Ordnance QF 25-pounder
Uses: 25-Pounder Gun, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan civil war'View the Source
Wikipedia: FN MAG
Uses: FN MAG, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: DShK
Uses: DShK, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: QBZ-95
Uses: QBZ-95, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: Ferret armoured car
Uses: Ferret armoured car, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan civil war'View the Source
Wikipedia: BTR-80
Uses: BTR-80, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: Alvis Saracen
Uses: Alvis Saracen, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier)
Uses: Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier), infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'View the Source
Wikipedia: FIM-92 Stinger
  • Uses: Stinger Missile, Infobox: wars
    Falklands War Soviet-Afghan War Iran-Iraq War Gulf War Angolan Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War Chadian-Libyan conflict Tajikistani Civil War Kargil War Yugoslav Wars Invasion of Grenada Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan Iraq War Syrian Civil War War in Iraq (2013-2017) Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Uses: FIM-92 Stinger, Infobox: wars
    Falklands War Soviet-Afghan War Iran-Iraq War Gulf War Angolan Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War Chadian-Libyan conflict Tajikistani Civil War Kargil War Yugoslav Wars Invasion of Grenada Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan Iraq War Syrian Civil War War in Iraq (2013-2017) Russo-Ukrainian War
View the Source
Wikipedia: 9K38 Igla
WikipediaUses: 9K38 Igla, Infobox: wars
Quote, Uses: 9K38 Igla, Infobox: wars
Iran War 2026 Iran-Iraq War Sri Lankan Civil War Siachen conflict Somali Civil War Gulf War Yugoslav Wars Bosnian War Cenepa War Second Chechen War Iraq War First Libyan Civil War Syrian civil war Russo-Ukrainian War Sinai insurgency Kurdish-Turkish conflict (2015-present) 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Gaza war 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
View the Source
Wikipedia: Type 56 assault rifle
Uses: Type 56 Assault Rifle, Infobox: wars
Quote, Uses: Type 56 Assault Rifle, Infobox: wars
Vietnam War Rhodesian Bush War Cambodian Civil War Laotian Civil War Sino-Vietnamese War Soviet-Afghan War Iran-Iraq War Sri Lankan Civil War Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Somali Civil War Tuareg rebellion (1990-1995) Persian Gulf War Kosovo War War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) Iraq War Kivu conflict Iraqi insurgency (2011-2013) War in Iraq (2013-2017) OLA insurgency Russo-Ukrainian war 2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict
View the Source
Wikipedia: Type 54 pistol
Uses: Type 54 pistol, Infobox: wars
Quote, Uses: Type 54 pistol, Infobox: wars
Sino-Indian War Vietnam War Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Rhodesian Bush War Sino-Vietnamese War Sri Lankan Civil War Somali Civil War Kargil war 2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict
View the Source
Wikipedia: Heckler & Koch HK69A1
Uses: Heckler & Koch HK69A1, Infobox: wars
Quote, Uses: Heckler & Koch HK69A1, Infobox: wars
Turkish-Kurdish conflict Nicaraguan Revolution Sri Lankan Civil War United States invasion of Panama
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Wikipedia: W85 heavy machine gun
Uses: W85 heavy machine gun, Infobox: wars
Quote, Uses: W85 heavy machine gun, Infobox: wars
War in Darfur Sri Lankan Civil War Northern Mali conflict Syrian Civil War Libyan Civil War Iraqi Civil War Yemeni Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War
View the Source
Wikipedia: Type 81 assault rifle
Uses: Type 81 assault rifle, Infobox: wars
Quote, Uses: Type 81 assault rifle, Infobox: wars
Sino-Vietnamese conflicts Cambodian-Vietnamese War Soviet-Afghan War Iran-Iraq War Sri Lankan Civil War Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Barin uprising Gulf War Croatian War of Independence Bosnian War Kosovo War Kargil War War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) Iraq War Boko Haram insurgency Syrian Civil War Internal conflict in Myanmar 2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict
View the Source
Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
Wikipedia
  • Uses: T-55, Wikipedia article text
    Due to the operation demands of the escalating Sri Lankan Civil War, T-55As of the regiment were deployed in pairs to forward bases to support infantry with limited training.
  • Uses: T-54/T-55, Wikipedia article text
    Due to the operation demands of the escalating Sri Lankan Civil War, T-55As of the regiment were deployed in pairs to forward bases to support infantry with limited training.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Daimler armoured car
Uses: Daimler armoured car, Wikipedia article text
Quote, Uses: Daimler armoured car, Wikipedia article text
The Daimlers served with the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps till the late 1990s having served with the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment in the 1971 JVP insurrection and early part of the Sri Lankan civil war most notably during the First Battle of Elephant Pass in which at least one Daimler was knocked out.
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