On 2 January 2009 divisions of the Sri Lanka Army advanced into Kilinochchi from the northern, southern and western directions of the town, and the LTTE fighters withdrew into positions in nearby jungles.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka, later announced that the military had taken control of the town and urged the LTTE to lay down arms and surrender.

[10] The Colombo Stock Exchange recorded a rise and the rupee stabilised,[11] while celebrators lit firecrackers on the streets soon after the capture was declared.

[12] Amidst the celebrations, a suicide bomb attack occurred in the evening in front of the air force headquarters in Colombo, killing three and wounding about 30.

The SLA continued to advance into LTTE-held territory, capturing some more strategically important locations, including Elephant Pass and the entire A9 Highway soon after the fall of Kilinochchi.

Shavendra Silva, advanced along the western coast, capturing several strategically important locations including the Mannar "Rice Bowl" area, Viddathalthivu, and Nachchikuda.

[31] The LTTE used their self-styled "Ditch-cum-bund" strategy to defend the town and constructed earth bunds and trenches around the area in an "L" shape to halt the advance of the Sri Lankan military.

[36] However, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran declared in an email interview that capturing Kilinochchi was "just a daydream of President Mahinda Rajapaksa".

Fighting continued for 10 days after this battle, during which period the SLA managed to capture some parts of the earth bund to the west of Kilinochchi.

[46] On 20 December 2008 the LTTE mounted a counteroffensive as SLA forces were preparing an assault to capture the village of Iranamadu, located to the south of Kilinochchi.

[47][48] LTTE started to withdraw its personnel from Kilinochchi with the fall of Paranthan on 31 December 2008, as divisions of the Sri Lanka Army began surrounding the town.

[7] The troop movements started on the dawn of 2 January 2009 when units of the 57 Division advanced 1 kilometre (1 mi) across the built-up area to the west of Kilinochchi, and entered the town center.

[8] In his speech he stated that: What our heroic troops have achieved is not only the capture of the great fortress of the LTTE, but a major victory in the world's battle against terrorism.

[54] Pro-rebel website Tamilnet reported that LTTE fighters and civilians had moved further northeast, and the Sri Lankan military had entered a "virtual ghost town".

[10] The news of the fall of Kilinochchi to the Sri Lankan military resulted in celebration, including gathering on the streets and lighting firecrackers, in places like Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Colombo, Ampara and Kalutara.

[12][57] The government of Sri Lanka claimed that the population in Jaffna celebrated the capture by raising the national flag with anti-LTTE slogans and demonstrations.

[59] The country officially marked the capture of Kilinochchi on 5 January by hoisting the national flag and observing two minutes of silence to honour the troops, while television and radio stations either blacked out their regular bulletins during this time or played patriotic songs.

[60] Following the capture of Kilinochchi by the SLA, the Colombo Stock Exchange recorded a rise of around 5 percent on the news and the Sri Lankan rupee became steady.

[65] The ban was put into effect from midnight pn 7 January, for "using civilians as human shields in uncleared areas and endangering their lives, despite requests by the government to release them".

[9] Soon afterward on 9 January the SLA captured the strategically important Elephant Pass area, which links the Jaffna Peninsula with the mainland.