Thoppigala set for showdown

Defence Diary by Ranga Jayasuriya

Going by the developments in the post-Vakarai context, some of which were, indeed, predictable, it is almost clear that the next phase of confrontation is inevitable in the jungles of Thoppigala, home to the Tigers' Beirut Base.

Other than its jungle bases in Thoppigala, the Tigers hold in the Batticaloa district is confined to scarcely populated pockets North of the Badulla-Chenkalady Road, which is identified in the military jargon as the Four-Eight sector of the Tigers.

For over a decade, the Tigers controlled pockets of terrain in the East,which were identified by the security forces for operational purpose as: the "Four-Six Sector - which included the coastal stripe of Vakarai, Kathiraveli and Verugal; Four - Eight Sector, which included the North of the Badulla-Chenkalady Road and the Four-Nine sector, which included the Tiger held areas in Amparai, mainly in the jungles of Kanchikudichcharu.

In the face of the loss of its Four-Six sector, Tiger cadres moved in to the jungles of Thoppigala and areas north of the Badulla-Chenkalady Road.

Greater part of the Tiger concentration in the area is of migrant elements that fled Vakarai in the North as well as Kanchikudichcharu in the South, where Police Commandos are advancing deep in to the jungles. The Tigers lost its Four-Six sector and have almost lost its Four-Nine Sector as the STF overran over 20 bases, abandoned by the Tigers, who moved northwards - towards jungles of Thoppigala in order to dodge the advancing police commandos.

Intelligence reports indicate of a concentration of 1000-1,500 Tiger cadres in the jungles of Thoppigala as well as other pockets still held by the LTTE. There are also reports that the Tigers are in possession of two Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers, positioned in the jungles of Thoppigala. These MBRL are believed to be of an old variety, which could fire 12-16 rockets simultaneously.

It was during the Tiger operation, the Unceasing Wave III, which overran the Elephant Pass Military Garrison that the Tigers first deployed these MBRLs, which took the entire military establishment by surprise. This was followed by the then Commander of the Army Gen. Srilal Weerasuriya publicly complaining - at a media conference held in the aftermath of the EPS debacle-of the superior fire power of the Tigers.

Weapon systems

This status quo has, however, been short lived and with the induction of much superior and ruthlessly effective Czech- built MBRL systems, the Security Forces took the upper hand. The Tigers were beaten back at the gates of Jaffna and later when the Tigers attempted an over-ambitious bid to recapture the peninsula August last year, the same weapon systems proved to be ruthlessly effective.

No intelligence reports are available of the exact variety of the MBRL positioned in Thoppigala, but certain reports suggest they could be similar to Katyusha Rocket launchers, a primitive multiple rocket launching system frequently deployed by the Hizbullah guerrillas against Israeli settlers.

Certain military officials also raised concerns that it could be a "Mon Gun", an early generation of almost antiquated weapon system which is capable of firing about 3 - 6 rockets simultaneously.

The Tigers could target security forces camps in Siththandi and Vavunathivu with these guns. However, set against the superior fire power and the counter battery fire of the security forces, the threat these two guns could pose is almost insignificant, quipped a senior Military official.

The LTTE is also reported to have several 120 mm heavy mortars, generally described as arty-mortars, which is capable of inflicting a damage equivalent to an artillery shell. However, there are no reports of the LTTE possessing artillery guns.

Sneaking to Thoppigala

During the last couple of days of the security forces operation in the coastal strip of Vakarai and Kathiravelu, an estimated 200 LTTE cadres were believed have sneaked to the jungles of Thoppigala. This included, Nagesh, the senior Tiger leader who commanded fighters in Vakarai, in the absence of Trincomalee Tiger commander Soornam.

The latest intelligence reports indicate the Tigers were consolidating in the Beirut Base, which was once thought to be impregnable due to its geographical location in a rocky thick jungle terrain.

However, the break up of the Eastern Tiger commander, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna and his subsequent demobilising of 5,000-6,000 strong Eastern Tiger formation resulted in a complete reversal of the Tiger fortune in the East.

From his hide-out, Karuna ordered his men to take on the remnant of Prabhakaran's loyalists and network of sympathizers and under-cover cadres, which sent an already weakened Eastern LTTE reeling. But, still, the Tigers controlled strategically important Sampoor in the Southern perimeters of the Trincomalee harbour, which is the life line for over 42,000 security forces and police personnel deployed in Jaffna.

With the security forces take over of Sampur, the major launching pad of the sea Tigers in the East, compromised the Tiger hold in the East, it also increased the strategic importance of its "Four-Six sector, of which Vakarai was also a launching pad for sea Tiger craft.

It was out of these ground conditions coupled with a resultant blow a second loss would have on the morale of its cadres that the LTTE leadership desperately hung on Vakarai, despite the mounting losses during nearly three months of military operation.

According to senior military officials 718 LTTE cadres were killed and over 300 wounded during the period from November 1 to January 19. These figures, however, can not be independently verified.

The nature of the implementation of the military operation in Sampoor, which opened one route for the Tigers for retreat enabled the Tigers to flee downward, towards Ichchalampattu and later towards Verugal and Vakarai.

When the troops decided to take over the "Four-Six sector" they were mindful of the loopholes of the previous mission and decided on a gradual strangulation of the Tiger hold and to cut off the escape routes of the LTTE.

Understandably, the objective was to destroy the LTTE's man power forever, thereby neutralising its ability to regroup and conduct future operations in the East.

The objective was accomplished to a greater detail as evident in the large cache of arms left behind by the fleeing Tigers and the reports of heavy fatalities of the LTTE.

The latest intelligence reports reveal that the Tigers were consolidating in the Thoppigala jungles and in its Four-Eight sector. Given the recent losses, the Tigers are hardly likely to attempt a decisive attack in the East. The most likely scenario is that the LTTE would return to its guerrilla tactics, engaging in hit and run attacks and claymore and landmine explosions against the security forces. The security forces routinely targeted suspected LTTE positions in the Thoppigala jungles using MBRL and artillery, but no information was available of the success or the failure of these attacks.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Tigers shelled at the Vavunathivu military camp and its vicinity wounding seven Special Task Force commandos and three civilians. The Tigers fired 120 mm and 81 mm mortar from the direction of Thoppigala.

Deflating power

Despite the deflating power, the Tigers could still sabotage the civil administration in the area, through a combination of terror and covert military campaign. The writing was on the wall on Wednesday of what could be a future Tiger tactic.

Alleged Tiger gunmen shot dead Hindu priest Selliah Parameshwaram who blessed President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his visit to Vakarai, last weekend.

According to information, alleged Tiger gunmen who arrived at his home in Sandiveli, Eravur, forced the priest out, before shooting him dead. The assassins were believed to have come from the Thoppigala jungles. The greatest challenge to sustain the military gains in the East is to restore normally to the war torn lives.

According to a senior military official, the government agencies are in full swing in Vakarai to expedite the resettlement process. He said the first phase of the resettlement program would commence in 20 days. This includes residents of Palchenai, Vakarai and Kathiraveli amounting to 75 percent of the total number of Internally Displaced Persons.

Accordingly, resettlement activities of 13 out of a total of sixteen GS divisions in Vakarai, Kathiraveli and Verugal are expected to commence at the end of this month. De-mining activities in these areas are now in progress. He said the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials had promised to restore electricity supply by Friday 16.

If the separatist insurgency is to be defeated, people have to be won over first and foremost.

Displacement and absence of opportunities and, of course, perceived ethnic discrimination generate resentment and despair, which culminates into a revolt against the State.

Resettlement is the key to restoring normalcy in the civilian life. Improved local infrastructure would be the door to new opportunities for the local youth. The success in the triple R initiative - resettlement, reconstruction and rehabilitation will be the only means to sustain the military gains in the East in the long term.

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Three 120 mm mortars found in Verugal

The security forces yesterday found three 120 mm mortar guns during a clearing operation in Verugal.

The guns, damaged by the Tigers during their retreat were found buried.

The LTTE's long range armament in its Four-Six sector was believed to have included five 120 mm mortars and two 152 mm artillery batteries.

The security forces earlier recovered two artillery guns and two 120 mm mortars. With yesterday's cache of weapons, it is believed that all the long range guns of the Tigers or their remnants have been found. This will also neutralize the threat possed by the long range guns of the LTTE to Kallar and Somapura villages, which have been subjected to sporadic shelling in recent past.

CID raids Sinhalese terror cell

The three Sinhalese men - the fourth arrested on Friday - taken to custody by the CID on the alleged links with the LTTE have confessed they supported the Tigers as part of a greater struggle to change the political system.

CID arrested the three Sinhalese men on Tuesday and recovered a stock of four T56 assault rifles with 449 live rounds, Two micro-pistols with 49 live rounds, Fifty live rounds of 9 mm, Two Claymore mines weighing one Kg each, sixty detonators and six kg of C 4 type explosives.

In a second search operation, conducted in the Railway Housing Scheme in Dematagoda, Colombo on Thursday police recovered another 9 mm pistol with two magazines and 35 live rounds, three "Rambo" knives, two live T56 rounds, a mini recorder and some documents from a locker in a room of one of the suspects.

The three suspects identified as Lalith Seneviratne, a journalist of a leftwing and pro-LTTE tabloid, Nihal Senasinghe, a trade unionist and a journalist of the Railway Union Newspaper Akuna and Sisira Priyankara, a printer. The suspects alleged to have confessed that they received training by the LTTE in the use of the T56 assault rifle, micro-pistols, hand grenades, Claymore mines and explosives and C 4 type explosives.

Following is the statement of Lalith Seneviratne to the investigators.

"I was involved in politics since my school days. I was activity involved since 1994 and more so during the 1995 general elections I worked for the JVP but left it disillusioned."

"There after, I worked as a journalist writing to journals and to the print media and I believed that the struggle was uncertain and challenging which required a better knowledge of politics."

"I had a contact and friend named "Ravi" who was the contact man for the LTTE. After discussions with him it was decided to meet the LTTE. This was about two years ago. They went to the LTTE controlled areas to meet them and arrangements were made to train two batches in the use of explosive, and weapons.

The first batch consisted of himself, Shamal, Jagath, Janaka, Priyantha and Habali. Shamal was the leader of the group. The duration of the training in weapons, physical training and explosives was 7-8 days. They went via Madhu, and then on to Killinochchi and "somewhere" else. There was an interpreter to translate instructions and Sanganam was training 'master' and supervisor. We were trained in the use of pistols, T56 rifles explosives and hand grenades. They returned after training".

"The need for more men was realised and another batch had to be trained. However it took time to arrange the second batch that was also led by Shamal which included Sujeeva, Sarath, Keerthi. The training again was 7-8 days. The LTTE also inquired what else was required."

"The LTTE sent us weapons including T56 rifles, pistols, explosives ammunition. These were exchanged in the Welisara seas. Sharmal hid the weapons without using them. Some were lost."

"The LTTE sent a second consignment which included T56 rifles, C 4 explosives. They were hidden by Sisira to be used for small operations in Rajagiriya, Nugegoda and Dehiwela areas which were selected as targets. The first target however was Kiribathgoda."

"A third consignment was sent and that was to Welisera. Coordination was via telephone and the same delivery route was used. The LTTE gave the route and a vehicle had to be sent to collect the consignment. He could not remember the vehicle numbers. They targeted Kirindiwela but failed. The last consignment included Claymore mines.

They were used at Kadawate led by Shamaland but failed. The Ganemulla attack was also unsuccessful. Mahara was targeted but was changed to target Minister Sripathi which was not a decision of the organisation. To his knowledge they were caught."

"They attempted Koggala but failed again. Then attempted IOC stations but dropped the idea as they were Indian. They gave up the idea as it would alert India."

Ravi gave them 10-12 lakhs of rupees for expenses. Today Ravi is in Canada. Although they trained, they did not have the technical skills to succeed. There was a proposal for the LTTE to send four instructors but in the meantime they were arrested."