Thousands are displaced when the military forces launch a massive operation in the northern Vanni region for control of a key highway that would give it land access to the former LTTE stronghold of Jaffna. The operation is codenamed Jayasikuru or ‘Victory Assured’.
Source
Human Rights Watch World Report: Sri Lanka, 1998.
Quotation
“On May 13, Sri Lankan armed forces launched the largest military operation of the year in northern Sri Lanka. In a massive offensive which continued through October, some 20,000 troops backed up by artillery, armored vehicles, and air support were deployed to recover rebel-held territory and reopen a supply route to the Jaffna peninsula across the LTTE-controlled Vanni region. At the outset, an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 civilians fled the offensive, adding to the hundreds of thousands already displaced in the area. There were reports of civilian casualties, and many suffered from periodic shortages as restrictions were placed on the movement of food and supplies. In August, Tamil politicians charged that indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas not under government control had resulted in civilian deaths and injuries and had damaged homes, schools and places of worship.” Extracts from HUman Rights Watch World Report for Sri Lanka, 1998.
