Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War
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The Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War was the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform a peacekeeping role. The deployment followed the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord between India and Sri Lanka of 1987 which was intended to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between militant Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists, principally the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the Sri Lankan Military.
Indian Intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War | |||||||
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Part of the Sri Lankan civil war | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Sri Lanka | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
(President of India) Rajiv Gandhi (Prime Minister of India) V P Singh, (Defence Minister of India) Maj.Gen. Harkirat Singh Maj.Gen. Ashok K. Mehta | Velupillai Prabhakaran | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
IPKF: 1,165 killed, 3009 Wounded[1] | 632 killed[2] |
The original intention was the Indian Peace Keeping Force would not be involved in large scale military operations. However, after a few months, the Indian Peace Keeping Force engaged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a series of battles. During the two years in which it was deployed, the IPKF fought numerous battles against the LTTE. The IPKF began withdrawing in 1989, and completed the withdrawal in 1990.