In November last year, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – generally known as the Tigers - launched the third phase of this attritious war by capturing key towns along the Colombo-Jaffna trunk road. On April 27, they took control of the strategically important Elephant Pass, once thought impregnable.
This cut completely already tenuous overland military supply lines from the south that had proved so difficult for the armed forces to protect and guarantee, especially through the Tiger controlled Vanni district.
After seventeen thousand Sri Lankan troops had been evacuated from the Elephant Pass garrison, the Tigers began to move forward towards Jaffna. Some thirty five thousand Sri Lankan soldiers are now trapped in the city, poised for a Tiger onslaught. Jaffna is quickly emptying of civilians fearing another bloodbath and heeding Tiger demands for them to leave the city.