Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
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| தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் දෙමළ ඊලාම් විමුක්ති කොටි සංවිධානය |
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| Also known as | Tamil Tigers; LTTE |
| Leader(s) | Velupillai Prabhakaran † |
| Foundation | 1976 |
| Dates of operation | 5 May 1976 – 18 May 2009 |
| Motives | Creation of an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the Northern Province and the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka |
| Ideology | Tamil nationalism Left-wing nationalism Separatism Militarism Revolutionary socialism Egalitarianism Anti-imperialism Secularism Self-determination |
| Major actions | Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Status | Inactive. Militarily defeated in May 2009. |
| Size | 18,000, as of 2004, excluding divisions. |
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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the northeast of the island in response to violent persecution and discriminatory policies against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan Government.
Initially starting out as a guerrilla force, the LTTE increasingly came to resemble conventional armed forces with a well-developed military wing that included a navy, an airborne unit, an intelligence wing, and a specialised suicide attack unit. The LTTE gained notoriety for using women and children in combat and carrying out a number of high-profile assassinations, including former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993. Consequently, the LTTE has been designated as a terrorist organisation by 33 countries, including the European Union, Canada, the United States, and India.
Over the course of the conflict, the LTTE frequently exchanged control of territory in the north-east with the Sri Lankan military, with the two sides engaging in intense military confrontations. It was involved in four unsuccessful rounds of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government and at its peak in 2000, the LTTE was in control of 76% of the landmass in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran headed the organisation from its inception until his death in 2009. Between 1983 and 2009, at least 100,000 were killed in the civil war, of which many were Sri Lankan Tamils. 800,000 Sri Lankan Tamils also left Sri Lanka for various destinations, including Europe, North America, and Asia.
Images for kids
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An LTTE bicycle infantry platoon north of Kilinochchi in 2004
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A mother of a dead LTTE cadre raises the Tamil Eelam flag on Maaveerar Naal 2002 in Germany
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LTTE women's wing marching in a parade.
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Kilinochchi District court ín LTTE-administered Tamil Eelam
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A LTTE Sea Tiger fast attack fiberglass boat passing a Sri Lankan freighter sunk by the Sea Tigers just north of the village of Mullaitivu, North-eastern Sri Lanka
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Kopay memorial for fallen Tamil combatants
See also
In Spanish: Tigres de Liberación del Eelam Tamil para niños
