Pooneryn Fort

Pooneryn Fort

Pooneryn Fort (Sinhala: පුනරින් බලකොටුව; Tamil: பூநகரிக் கோட்டை) is a ruined fort located in Pooneryn (Tamil: Poonakary) in Kilinochchi District, Sri Lanka. History The fort is said to have been established by the Portuguese to dominate the Jaffna Peninsula after they get control of its coastal area from the 16th century up to the 17th century. In the 17th century, the Dutch took over the fort and controlled it until it was captured by the British. A monument in a war ground At the beginning of the Sri Lankan civil war in the 1980s, the Pooneryn area including the fort site was under the control of the Sri Lanka Army. In the 1990s, LTTE (a Tamil secessionist group designated as a terrorist organization by a number of countries) attacked the government forces and captured the area including the fort. As a result of this war, the fort was not accessible for visitors for a long time of period. However, the fort was opened for the general public after the defeat of LTTE by the government fo…