- Operation Cactus
Warbox
conflict=Operation Cactus
caption=AnIndian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft that was used to paradrop Indian troops in Male.
date=November 3 ,1988
place=Maldives
result=Decisive Indian victory Government rule restored in Maldives
casus=PLOTE invades Maldives
combatant1=flagicon|IndiaIndia
combatant2=PLOTE
commander1=flagicon|IndiaRajiv Gandhi
commander2=Abdullah Luthufi POW
strength1=1,600
strength2=200
casualties1=1 Wounded
casualties2=19 KIAOperation Cactus: [ [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1990s/Cactus.html Operation Cactus - The IAF airlift into the Maldives ] ] In November 1988, the People's Liberation Front of Tamil
Eelam (PLOTE ) comprising about 200 Tamil secessionists invaded Maldives. At the request of the President of Maldives,Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ,Indian Armed Forces with active assistance of theResearch and Analysis Wing launched a military campaign to fight the mercenaries out of Maldives.Prelude
Whereas the
1980 and1983 coup attempts against Gayoom's presidency were not considered serious, the third coup attempt in November1988 alarmed the international community. About 80 armedPLOTE mercenaries [ [http://www.ipcs.org/ipcs/databaseIndex2.jsp?database=1001&country2=Maldives Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies ] ] landed onMalé before dawn aboard speedboats from a freighter. Disguised as visitors, a similar number had already infiltratedMalé earlier. Although the mercenaries quickly gained the nearby airport on Hulele, they failed to capture President Gayoom, who fled from house to house and asked for military intervention fromIndia , theUnited States , and theUnited Kingdom .India n prime ministerRajiv Gandhi immediately dispatched 1,600 troops by air to restore order inMalé .The Operation
Less than 12 hours after the request from President Gayoom,
India n paratroopers arrived on Hulele, causing some of the mercenaries to flee towardSri Lanka in their freighter. The operation started on the night ofNovember 3 , 1988, as theIndian Air Force airlifted a parachutebattalion group fromAgra and flew them non-stop over 2,000 kilometres (1,240 mi) toMaldives . The Indian paratroopers landed atHulule and secured theairfield and restored the Government rule atMalé within hours. Those unable to reach the ship in time were quickly rounded up. Nineteen people reportedly died in the fighting, and several taken hostage also died. Three days later anIndian Navy frigate captured the mercenaries on their freighter near theSri Lanka n coast. Swift operation by the military and precise intelligence information quelled the insurgency in the island nation.Aftermath
In July
1989 , a number of the mercenaries were returned toMaldives to stand trial. Gayoom commuted the death sentences passed against them to life imprisonment under Indian pressure [ [http://www.photius.com/countries/madagascar/government/madagascar_government_security_concerns.html Madagascar Security Concerns - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System ] ] .The
1988 coup had been headed by a once prominent Maldivian businessperson namedAbdullah Luthufi , who was operating a farm onSri Lanka . Ex-presidentIbrahim Nasir denied any involvement in the coup. In fact, in July1990 , President Gayoom officially pardoned Nasir in absentia in recognition of his role in obtainingMaldives ' independence.The operation also strengthened
Indo-Maldivian relations as a result of the successful restoration of the Gayoom government.See also
*
Parachute Regiment (India) References
External links
*http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1988Cactus/Cactus01.html
*http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1970s/Operation-Cactus.html
*http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1988Cactus/Chordia.html
*http://armedforces.nic.in/navy/cactus.htm
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