By Gearóid Ó Colmáin – In 1983, the Tamil Tigers for the Liberation of Elaam (TTLE), started a civil war in Sri Lanka in order to gain independence. The Sinhalese government brought in 50 Mossad officers to train the military in counter-insurgency. In 1984 and 1985, the Israelis trained both sides in the civil war in military bases near Tel-Aviv. The Mossad used Indian intelligence, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) as an intermediary. The money was laundered through the infamous BCCI Bank – a major source of financing for international terrorism. The international drug trade was a key source of financing for a civil war in a developing country organised by world powers.
