For over 25 years , the war caused significant hardships to the population , environment and the economy of the country , with at least 100,000 people killed during its course . The tactics employed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the war and specially , their attacks to civilian targets , use of child soldiers and suicide bombings resulted in them listing as a terrorist organization in 32 countries , including the United States , India , Canada and the member nations of the European Union . The LTTE was proscribed for the first time in Sri Lanka in 1998 , after their attack to the temple of the tooth , a highly sacred Buddhist shrine and a UNESCO world heritage site . The police and home guards retaliated for the Temple of the Tooth attack by massacring eight Tamil civilians in Tampalakamam on 3 February 1998 . Later the LTTE was proscribed again in 2009 . In May 2009 , Sri Lankan government formally declared an end to the 25-year civil war after the army took control of the entire island and the death of the founding leader of the Tamil Tigers , Velupillai Prabhakaran
attack to the temple of the tooth
1998 Temple of the Tooth attack
Terrorism in Sri Lanka