Jaffna Fort

 Jaffna Fort is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 1618 under Phillippe de Oliveira following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. The fort is located near the coastal village of Gurunagar. Because of the numerous miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary statue in the nearby church, the fortress was named the Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapato. It was captured by the Dutch under Rijcklof van Goens in 1658, who expanded it. In 1795, it was taken over by the British and remained under the control of a British garrison till 1948. As the only large military fort in the country, due to the presence of only government and military buildings within its ramparts, it was garrisoned by a detachment of the Ceylon Army. With the onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War, it came under siege on several occasions and was the scene of pitched battles. From 1985 to 1995, it was under the control of the LTTE. During this time, the LTTE destroyed several key features to prevent the Army from taking control due to the site being used to stage attacks. However, it was recaptured by the Sri Lankan Army in 1995 after a 50-day siege during Operation Riviresa.