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Month: February 2021

Overcoming barriers to enter war-torn Jaffna under rebel siege Part – 1

Overcoming barriers to enter war-torn Jaffna under rebel siege Part – 1

November 1994 Background After the capture of the Jaffna Fort by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in September 1990, the entire Jaffna peninsula was in control of the LTTE except for the High-Security Zone (HSZ) in Palaly, Jaffna and Elephant Pass at the neck of the peninsula. I had never visited Jaffna even during times of peace before 1983. However, after the onset of the war, I visited the HSZ in Jaffna on many occasions to treat the…

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The Siege of Jaffna Fort during the Civil War in Sri Lanka- 1990

The Siege of Jaffna Fort during the Civil War in Sri Lanka- 1990

History The Jaffna Fort is a pentagon-shaped fortress occupying fifty-five acres of land in the Jaffna city facing the Jaffna lagoon.  It is Sri Lanka’s lasting legacy of the country’s colonial past. The Jaffna Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1618 by Phillipe de Olivera following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. The Fort was captured by the Dutch in 1658 and expanded, to make it the country’s second-largest Dutch Fort. In 1795, it was taken over by the British…

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