ABSTRACT
Operation Liberation was the real showdown between the sides, the result of the governments attempt to wrest the initiative from the enemy that was besieging the Security Forces. The objective of Operation Liberation was to seal off and capture this strip of land. Lalith Athulathmudali explained the focus on Vadamarachchi as driven by several strategic considerations. The Vadamarachchi division of the Jaffna Peninsula is a thin strip of land that extends north-west from Elephant Pass. It flares into a broad, oblong area in the north-western end, making the strip look like a smaller version of the peninsula. The fledgling military struggled with its transport, which relied heavily on the few transport aircraft and road bound transport. The military operations in the North were widely seen as a precursor to a large-scale offensive to capture the peninsula.
