Srilanka, May 18 -- The armed conflict which lasted for almost three decades between the Government Forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was known as the 'Eelam War'. The conflict broke out in 1983 and concluded in 2009. Today, Sri Lanka marks the 16th anniversary of this event.

During this time span, the war was temporarily stopped thrice due to international pressure to engage in peace negotiations.

Since the mid 1970s there was friction and hostility between the Government and the Tamil militant groups. This started with the 1975 killing of Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah by the Tamil New Tigers (TNT), which later morphed into the LTTE.

But it was on July 23,1983 that the LTTE launched its first major attack agains...