Sathasivam Krishnakumar

Sathasivam Krishnakumar (; 2 January 1960 – 16 January 1993; commonly known by the nom de guerre Kittu) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

Early life and family

Krishnakumar was born on 2 January 1960. He was the son of Sathasivam and Rajaluxmy (Seethalakshmi) from Valvettithurai in northern Ceylon. Thirteen soldiers were killed on the spot, two died later and a number of LTTE cadres were also killed. LTTE members involved in the ambush included Prabhakaran, Kittu, Appaiah, Chellakili, Iyer, Pulendran, Santos and Victor.

Kittu then became the LTTE's Jaffna regional commander. Sabaratnam went on the run, fleeing from TELO's main base in Kalviyankadu to Neervely, then to Kopay and finally to Kondavil. Sabaratnam pleaded with Kittu for his life but Kittu shot him using a machine gun.

On 13 March 1987Efn|Another source gives the date as 13 March 1987. Two of Kittu's bodyguards were killed and a third injured seriously. Kittu sent LTTE cadre Johny back to Sri Lanka to get instructions from Prabhakaran who was operating from the Vanni jungles. The LTTE activists threatened to launch a hunger strike as they were being detained without charge. He then travelled to the Vanni, leaving his girlfriend Cynthia in Jaffna. Three days of mourning, starting 18 January 1993, were announced.