Troops maul from all directions

Tigers limp on all fours :

by Ranil WIJAYAPALA

The Security Forces are on the offensive to capture Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu to put an end to the ongoing conflict as the LTTE has been pushed back in a do or die battle to defend that territory where fierce fighting erupted within this week. So the battles that erupted in Akkarayankulam, Vannerikulam and Nachchikuda this week have witnessed the LTTE entering into its final battle in Kilinochchi.

The LTTE is now fighting its final battle in the outskirts of Kilinochchi, the administrative hub of the organisation.

Reports indicate that the LTTE had taken all their long range artillery located in Pooneryn to the centre of Kilinochchi to direct the maximum fire power against the advancing troops.

Simultaneously they were pumping hundreds of well trained cadres operating in the Muhamalai front into Nachchikuda and Akkarayankulam to thwart the attempts of the troops to capture some tactically important stretch of earth bund under their control on Monday afternoon that happened to be the first day of the month September.

The spirit of the LTTE’s fighting strength was deployed in Nachchikuda, Vannerikulam and Akkarayankulam fronts during these confrontations in which both the Security Forces and the LTTE sustained damages in equal terms, according to initial reports.

The offensive was first started by the 58 Division from the northernmost front now operating well within the Kilinochchi district. Their initial attempt was to capture a significant portion of the massive earth bund which runs from Nachchikuda to Akkarayan so as to clear their path further northwards either towards Kilinochchi or Pooneryn.

It was around 1.30 pm on Monday, September 1, battalions of the 58 Division went ahead from their defences to launch their offensive.

Initially they were successful in capturing, the defence lines of the LTTE from various places amidst stiff resistance from the LTTE.

The troops attached to the 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion, 8 Gemunu Watch launched this limited operation to capture a stretch of the defence line in the south of Nachchikuda. Maximum Tiger fire power was used against the troops while inducting waves of cadres into the front pumping them from the Northern front.

According to ground sources all top level military cadres like Theepan, Bhanu and Lakshman were on their communication sets continuously pushing their cadres to thwart the advancing troops. The Tiger outfit had the chance of using their maximum firepower taking the cover behind the massive human shield in Kilinochchi to push back the troops from the areas they were holding.

At this critical situation the Security Forces also faced a difficult task as they were not in a position to effectively counter the LTTE firepower due to the entrapped civilians behind whom the LTTE had taken cover.

As the battle continued for hours the two battalions of the 571 Brigade under the command of Colonel G.V. Ravipriya also inducted their troops from Akkarayankulam area to ease the pressure on the troops in Nachchikuda and Vannerikulam. However, they too faced stiff resistance from the LTTE in Akkarayan area with their strong firepower.

There had been several LTTE counter-attacks aiming at re-capturing the areas held by the troops. In Nachchikuda the battle continued for more than 12 hours till 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday and with the number of casualties increasing troops were withdrawn to their original positions. Ten soldiers went missing in the Nachchikuda front and over 30 soldiers sustained injuries while three others get killed in the confrontations.

Biggest damages were reported from the troops operating in Akkarayan as two officers and 19 soldiers went missing from the 4 Sinha Regiment battalion. Thirteen others were also reportedly killed at this front with another 60 odd soldiers sustaining injuries due to large number of counter attacks directed by the LTTE.

The LTTE also had suffered heavily with over 40 of their cadres reportedly killed in the Nachchikuda front alone and dozens of cadres in the Akkarayankulam front whilst hundreds sustaining injuries.

However, this time they had the advantage of recovering 32 odd bodies after these confrontations as a proof of their victory. The LTTE propaganda machinery was busy with displaying these bodies over their websites as this was the first occasion they had been able to capture such a large number of bodies of the troops during the past two years long operations.

But the LTTE itself knows very well the size of the damage they suffered during this confrontation and the repercussions of losing such a large number of well-trained cadres on the morale of its combatants. Even after this massive battle, the LTTE continuously launched counter attacks on the Security Forces holding some tactically important locations of their massive earth bund from various locations in the West and East of Vannerikulam.

During these battles LTTE also suffered heavy loses with over hundreds of their cadres getting killed within the first four days of the fighting. Despite losing a comparatively large number of troops, this time the fighting strength of the troops remains intact as the battalions which had suffered casualties have been strengthened with additional troops. The troops are now in a position to hold some tactically important areas in the East and West of Vannerikulam against the enemy attacks.

The LTTE, after a long period may have given a morale boost to their cadres displaying the bodies of the valiant troops before they were handed over to the Security Forces at the Omanthai entry exit point, through the ICRC.

The unfortunate situation is that the LTTE could not hide its savagery as they had disfigured the captured bodies of the troops before they were handed over to the ICRC.

However, no one can expect any human approval from the LTTE which is even ready to prey on the lives of their own Tamil community to defend themselves from the advancing troops.

The LTTE has reasons to deploy its maximum strength in Nachchikuda and Akkarayan as they are aware of the fact that the loss of Nachchikuda is the prelude to Pooneryn, the tactically important location they have kept under their control in order to take Jaffna peninsula within their artillery range.

The most important reason as to when the LTTE is now defending Nachchikuda to the hilt is that they are going to lose the control of the only available supply route from West to East once they lose Nachchikuda. LTTE movements along this route, which links Kilinochchi and the A-32 road via Jeyapuram, Vannerikkulam and North Akkarayankulam from North of Nachchikuda have already been restricted with the 58 troops capturing some sections of this road from various locations.

With the capture of this route the LTTE is losing its vital link with the Kilinochchi, isolating the Tiger cadres in Nachchikuda unless they find a new route to Kilinochchi from northern direction. That is the main reason why they are defending Nachchikuda so strongly countering the troops attempts to capture it.

At the same time they want to stop the troops from opening a land route to Jaffna via Mannar Pooneryn road after the capture of Nachchikuda and later Ponneryn.

Such a move will never be tolerated by the LTTE as the opening of a land route will definitely put the troops in the Jaffna peninsula in a much advantageous position as they can depend on sea, air and land supplies in the case of any emergency situation arising in Jaffna peninsula.

Apart from the advantages on military side, the LTTE is more concerned about the civilian factor, as such a move will help the Jaffna population to reach the South via a land route. That will definitely not be in the interest of the LTTE.

That was why they are making such an effort to thwart the efforts of the troops to advance into Kilinochchi and Pooneryn even sacrificing thousands of their cadres.

However, the pertinent question is whether the LTTE can sustain such losses for a long period as they have already lost a considerable number of their cadres during the two-year long battles in the North and the East.

What was emphasised by the Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka soon after the temporary losses by the troops in Akkarayan and Nachchikuda is that there is no hurry on the part of the Security Forces to capture either Kilinochchi or Pooneryn. The Security Forces have enough time to go for their target of liberating the entire Wanni and the North.

The Army Commander has reportedly emphasized these facts after summoning all the Division Commanders in Wanni, Director of Military Intelligence and Special Forces Brigade Commander in the aftermath of the Akkarayan and Nachchikuda incidents, on Wednesday evening.

The need is to achieve the victory with minimum casualties on the part of the Security Forces. Therefore, their intention is to cause maximum killings on the LTTE without giving priority to capture land areas. Then they can reach Kilinochchi without much resistance inside Kilinochchi town, in the manner they captured townships like Thunukkai and Mallavi.

With the victories in Thunukkai and the latest in Mallawi the troops attached to the 57 Division are now advancing further closer to Kilinochchi town from various directions.

The 10 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion captured Murikkandi village on Thursday which is located in the South of Akkarayankulam.

Meanwhile the troops attached to the 7 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion under the command of Lt.Colonel Ranjith Abeyratne is now advancing towards Kokavil on the Thunukkai-Kokavil Road and towards Kilinochchi from another direction.

Therefore, the A-9 road which had not yet been touched by the Security Forces so far is within the reach of the Security Forces from various directions from Kokavil, Mankulam and North of Omanthai. They can move into Mankulam town at any moment and take control of the areas North of Omanthai upto Mankulam.

Such a move will help civilians now entrapped in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts to move out of the battle-torn area to the safer areas in Vavuniya as requested by the Government. The Government made this announcement this Monday asking the civilians to leave for the Government controlled areas considering their safety.

The United Nations office in Colombo also endorsed the moves by the Government to facilitate the civilians movements towards Government controlled areas and insisted the LTTE to ensure the free movement of the civilians entrapped in Wanni.

The International Organisations which are deeply concerned about the plight of the civilians entrapped in Wanni have been working to exert pressure on the LTTE to allow the civilians to move to safer areas as they wish as it is certain that the LTTE would make use of them as human shields against the fire power of the Security Forces.

It is only through such a move the LTTE can sustain itself in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. But it is not clear whether the LTTE would be able at least to provide the basic needs of the civilian population without any assistance from the Government and the INGOs. The only way to provide them with basic needs is to take them out from Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts as the situation is becoming extremely volatile as fierce battles are expected to erupt in the coming weeks as well.