Srilanka's 26-years long insurgency ended as the leader if the Tamil Tigers, Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed in May 2009 while trying to flee the battle zone in Mullaitivu in the northern region of the country.
It marked the collapse of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealem (LTTE), which Prabhakaran setup in 1976 and became one of the most well-armed insurgent groups in the world with its own army, navy and air force. Prabhakaran's death came hours after his elder son Charles anthony who was being groomed to suceed him was also killed. Also killed were the Tiger's intelligence chief Shanmugalingam Shivashankar alias Pottu Amman, the naval wing leader Soosai, the political wing chief Balasingham Nadesan, the head of the peace Secretriat S. Puleedevan and the police cheif Ilango. A large number of LTTE fighters were reported to have committed mass suicide so as to avoid falling into the hands of the military.
The insugency caused severe hardships to the people, environment and the economy of the Srilanka, with over 80000 people killed. In 2009, the government started taking control of the entire area previously controlled by the Tigers, including their de-facto capital Kilinochchi, main military base Mullaitivu and the strategic A9 highway leading the LTTE to finally admit defeat on May 17, 2009.
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