Creation (1936) The Kilinochchi town was established in 1936 as part of a colonization project that sought to ease overpopulation and unemployment in
Jaffna. Kilinochchi is still part of the Jaffna electoral division and it was separated from the
Jaffna District in the 1980s as a new district. Most of the people living in this district are farmers and related to
agricultural work. Most of the people migrated from Jaffna in the 1930s to acquire government grants for land in the region and to engage in paddy (rice) cultivation. During the 1970s, a large number of immigrants from the hill country, predominantly
Indian Tamils, settled in the town. Much of the population immigrated overseas (Europe, US, Canada, Australia, etc.) during the
Civil War (1990-2009). The population has begun to rise after the end of the war.
Sri Lankan Civil War troops in Kilinochchi, 2004 The
LTTE first took hold of the town in 1990 when the Army withdrew its garrisons from Kilinochchi. Then the area was retaken by the Army during
Operation Sathjaya in September 1996. The town again fell into the LTTE's control in September 1998 who held their administrative hub there until retreating during the
Battle of Kilinochchi on 2 January 2009.
Security Forces Headquarters – Kilinochchi was established on June 29, 2009. ==Demography==