Sulipuram Army Camp disbanded after three decades

Colombo, Jan. 25 (Daily Mirror) – The Sri Lanka Army has completely vacated the Sulipuram Army Camp (also referred to as Chulipuram), a facility that had been operational for over 30 years.

The soldiers stationed at the camp vacated late Friday night, relocating to a nearby Army Camp.

This follows broader directives issued in late 2024 to disband certain long-standing military camps in the Jaffna region, aimed at returning land to their original civilian owners.

The formal departure was coordinated by the Commander of the 513th Infantry Division, who officially handed over the vacation notice to the Chankanai Divisional Secretriat last week.

The Sulipuram camp was established during the height of the Sri Lankan civil war in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, Army Spokesman Brigadier Waruna Gamage said that the disbandment is not a sudden withdrawal but a calculated step in the Army’s restructuring plan.

In recent years, the Sri Lanka Army has closed or relocated several camps in the Northern Province as part of national restructuring efforts and to return land to civilian use.

Katkolam Army Camp in the North was disbanded in November 2024 to return the land to the civilian population as part of a restructuring plan.

In October last year, the land where the Karaitivu Army Camp was located in Amparai was handed back to the public after 35 years.

The 10th Battalion Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment, which was stationed on half an acre of land in Karaitivu since 1990, was removed and the land was officially handed over the Karaitivu Pradeshiya Sabha.

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