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(詳細はSri Lankan Military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the control of the town of Kilinochchi in the Northern Theater of Eelam War IV during the Sri Lankan civil war between November 2008 and January 2009. The town of Kilinochchi was the administrative center and de facto capital of the LTTE's proposed state of Tamil Eelam. The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) conducted an offensive through the months of November and December 2008 during which three attempts were made to capture the town during the month of December. These were thwarted by the LTTE, and both sides claimed that they suffered minimal casualties while inflicting maximum damage on the other during these assaults.〔 The Sri Lanka Air Force launched air strikes against LTTE positions in Kilinochchi throughout this period. On 2 January 2009, divisions of the Sri Lanka Army advanced into Kilinochchi from the northern, southern and western directions of the town, and the LTTE fighters withdrew into positions in nearby jungles. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka, later announced that the military had taken control of the town and urged the LTTE to lay down arms and surrender.〔 However, the LTTE stated that the SLA captured a "ghost town" after they withdrew, and described it as an insignificant loss.〔〔 After Kilinochchi was captured, several foreign governments urged both parties to seek a political solution.〔 The Colombo Stock Exchange recorded a rise and the rupee stabilized,〔 while celebrators lit firecrackers on the streets soon after the capture was declared.〔 Amidst the celebrations, a suicide bomb attack occurred in the evening in front of the air force headquarters in Colombo, killing 3 and wounding about 30 people. The SLA continued to advance into LTTE held territory, capturing some more strategically important locations, including Elephant Pass and the entire A9 Highway soon after the fall of Kilinochchi. ==History and background== The Sri Lanka Army withdrew from Kilinochchi in 1990, enabling the LTTE to take control of the town for the first time. The SLA recaptured it during operations Sathjaya I, II, and III in September 1996. However, the LTTE launched Operation Unceasing Waves II in September 1998 and captured the town again, forcing the SLA to vacate it. This battle caused heavy casualties to both sides, and the loss was described by the then military spokesman, Brigadier Sunil Tennakoon, as "the largest blow after Mullaitivu". Although Kilinochchi is not a strategically important location in terms of military operations, it bears a symbolic importance because of the LTTE using it as the de facto capital of Tamil Eelam, the separate state that the LTTE is fighting for. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Colonel Karuna, a former commander of the LTTE, claimed that the town of Kilinochchi was important for the LTTE because it was the showcase of the organization〔 〕 According to government claims, all civil administrative affairs were handled by government authorities despite the LTTE being in control of the town. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2008–09 Battle of Kilinochchi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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