Charles Lucas Anthony, also known as Lt. Colonel Seelan, from Trincomalee District

Trincomalee District

Trincomalee district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka...

 of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, was a close associate of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran

Velupillai Prabhakaran

Thiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka...

. He was killed in a close encounter with Sri Lankan Army

Sri Lankan Army

The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...

 soldiers in Meesalai, Jaffna District

Jaffna District

Jaffna district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Jaffna city. Parts of the district were transferred to...

 on 15 July 1983.

To avenge his death, early Tamil Tigers including Velupillai Prabhakaran and Sathasivam Krishnakumar

Sathasivam Krishnakumar

Sathasivam Krishnakumar also known as Colonel Kittu was a well-known commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam .- Personal life :...

 carried out an attack on Sri Lankan Army soldiers on 23 July 1983, killing 13 of them. The Black July

Black July

Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...

 riots, triggered by the killing of these soldiers, led directly to the outbreak of civil war

Sri Lankan civil war

The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...

 in Sri Lanka.

Prabhakaran named the Charles Anthony Brigade

Charles Anthony Brigade

Charles Anthony Brigade the first conventional fighting formation created by the LTTE on 10 April 1991 was initially trained under the leadership of Col. Balraj. It is one of the oldest and a highly trained infantry units of the Tamil Tigers...

 as a tribute to his close friend. Prabhakaran also named his eldest son Charles Anthony. Tamil Tigers claim Charles Anthony to be one of the 'foundation stones' of Tamil Eelam

Tamil Eelam

Tamil Eelam , is the name given by certain Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to the independent state which they aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamil Eelam has no official status or recognition by any other state or authority...

.