Operation Combine

Operation Combine was a task force deployed by the Sri Lanka Army from 4 August 1989 to February 1990 to conduct counter insurgency operations in support of the Sri Lanka Police against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which had launched a its second insurgency in 1987.[1]

Established by Lieutenant Colonel Ranjan Wijeratne, State Minister of Defence on 4 August 1989 at the height of the 1987–89 JVP Insurrection in the south of Sri Lanka, the task force was headed by Major General Cecil Waidyaratne, Army Chief of Staff with Brigadier Lakshman Algama serving as his deputy and established its headquarters at Havelock Town. The task force carried out intelligence gathering and direct action operations against the JVP, targeting its leadership. It was successful in tracking down and eliminating much of the JVP leadership which culminated with the capture and death of its leader Rohana Wijeweera on 12 November 1989. Following the death of Wijeweera, the JVP insurrection collapsed and Operation Combine was terminated in February 1990 by Wijeratne.[1]