Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil... Wikipedia

• Also known as:  Tamil Tigers, LTTE
• Country:  Sri Lanka
• Leader(s):  Velupillai Prabhakaran †
• Foundation:  1976
• Dates of operation:  May 05, 1976–18 May 2009 (2009-05-18)
• Preceded by:  Tamil New Tigers
• Motives:  Creation of an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the Northern Province and the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka
• Ideology:  Tamil nationalism, Left-wing nationalism, Revolutionary socialism, Egalitarianism, Secularism, Separatism
• Status:  Inactive, Militarily defeated in May 2009
• Size:  18,000, as of 2004, excluding divisions.
• Annual revenue:  US$300+ million prior to the military defeat.
• Means of revenue:  Contributions from Tamil diaspora (mostly voluntary, sometimes coerced), overseas investments, smuggling and taxation under LTTE-controlled areas.
• Website:  Official site (now defunct)
• Data source:  DuckDuckGo