How security Forces liberated the South and West of Batticaloa :

When Chenkaladi-Maha Oya Road fell under troops control

The Sri Lanka military proved its metal in January 2007 with the liberation of Vakarai from the clutches of the LTTE, effectively facing all the challenges posed by the LTTE to thwart the efforts of the military to capture that strategic stronghold.

Although the Security Forces achieved their successes since Mavil Aru operation the common masses of the country were not aware what was going on in the battle front. Even though they were aware that the military was on winning game they believe them with little bit of suspicion in their minds.

The immediate factor behind that situation was that the strategies adopted by the Army troops were completely a novel experience for them as they used to hear military operations in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Elephant Pass, Mankulam, Nedunkerni in 1990’s with a massive number of deaths of soldiers.

Therefore, many rumours were spread all over the country raising doubts about the military victory in Vakarai too as they did not hear any news about large number of deaths in the military during these operations. So those victories were unbelievable for them.

Disgruntled politicians in the Opposition started to ridicule the military victories in political stages. But, the Government was in a firm stand to continue its military strategy to defeat the LTTE terrorism whatever the undue criticism it had to face.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the three Forces Commanders appealed them not to let down the military victories. But, they were not shaken by those criticism as they were aware of the real truth and also they were aware of the fact that they were marching on the correct path.

However, huge publicity given to the cache of LTTE weapons recovered from Vakarai area and the liberation of the civilian population from Vakarai gave some sort of confidence for the general public to trust the words of the military rather than the versions of the disgruntled politicians.

Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka was confident of his military plan for the East. He adopted small teams operations instead of launching massive operations confronting the LTTE in huge scale. The small team operations were helpful in the Vakarai operation to liberated civilian population from the clutches of the LTTE without causing any civilian deaths. At the same time the Security Forces also could maintain a lower figure on casualties and deaths during these operations.

The only opetion the LTTE had to face this situation was the booby traps and the mines as they were not aware of the troops approach to their territory.

Following the capture of LTTE stronghold at Vakarai on January 19, 2007 and later the areas around including Verugal, and the subsequent opening of the Trincomalee-Batticaloa Road to the government control, marked the end of an important phase in the Eelam War-4.

The Special Forces Brigade under the command of Colonel Prasanna de Silva did the leading role in the operations in Sampur and Vakarai. By this time the Army was in need of more and more troops to consolidate and dominate the areas they have captured. Army Commander with the consultation of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa were planning out their recruitment drive to increase it strength.

However, the military could not wait, until it get its required strength. The LTTE cadres who fled from Vakarai towards Baron’s Cap or Thoppigala area and in the West of Batticaloa were intensifying their terror activities in that area. Therefore, Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka decided to hand over the next operation for the Commando Brigade.

The elite Commandos of the Sri Lanka Army supported by the seventh battalion of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry (7SLLI), sixth, seventh and the eighth battalions of the Gemunu Watch (6,7 & 8 GW) who were directly under the Army Commander were entrusted with the next phase of the operation to liberate the South and West of Batticaloa.

This time the major focus of the Security Forces was to capture areas west and south of Batticaloa upto the road stretch between Pullimulai to Chenkaladi on the Badulla-Maha Oya-Chenkaladi A-5 Road which was under LTTE control for more than 14 years since 1994.

The area under the focus of the Security Forces was located west of the Batticaloa-Akkaraipattu A-4 Road and south of the Batticaloa - Trincomalee A-15 road. The area demarcated for the Security Forces’ humanitarian operation was populated by nearly 75,000 people.

The Police Special Task Force was in control of the A-5 Maha Oya Chenkaladi road upto Pullimulai from the Maha Oya side and the Security Forces had control up to Black Bridge from the Chenkaladi- Batticaloa side. The road stretch between Pullimulai to Chenkaladi was under LTTE control.

The area located east of the Chenkaladi Maha Oya road and west of Batticaloa was the lifeline for Tiger terrorists operating in Thoppigala jungles, as it provided much needed logistics support and manpower through their forcible recruitment drives.

The Tigers also made use of this area to de-stabilise the Security Forces in Vavunathivu, Sathurukondavil, Mailambaveli, Sittandi and Kaluvankerni through intermittent mortar fire.

The LTTE also launched a mortar attack on the helicopter carrying Western diplomats to Batticaloa when it landed at the Weber Stadium in Vavunathivu, in February 2007 from this direction.

Under these circumstances it was essential for the Security Forces to neutralise Tiger threats coming from this direction using the handful of mortar launchers located there, threatening the lives of both civilians and also of the Security Forces.

According to Security Forces estimates, the Tigers had used a few 120 mm mortar launchers, and a 100 mm Mon Gun located in this area to launch attacks on the Security Forces.

Therefore, it became crucial for the Security Forces to capture this area to take full control of the Eastern population thus paralyzing Tiger activities, which are now confined to the Thoppigala or Baron’s cap jungles.

Thousands of civilians left their villages in the west and south of Batticaloa isolating the Tiger cadres in the area, enabling the Security Forces to liberate the area with zero casualties to the civilian population. The same pattern was witnessed during the Vakarai operation.

An estimated 65,126 civilians left the area before the Security Forces humanitarian mission to liberate the area and took shelter at the IDP centres in cleared areas in the Batticaloa district adding to the number of civilians living in the district after being displaced from areas in Trincomalee.

It has again turned into a battle fought by the Security Forces in the Eastern theatre, using their strategies and tactics to counter the guerrilla warfare of the Tiger outfit taking cover under the civilian population to thwart military operations to liberate the Tamil population.

The Security Forces again averted face-to-face confrontations with the Tigers, deviating from the earlier practices to capture uncleared areas putting the LTTE to the level of a conventional Army.

On February 24, elite Army commandos were inducted into the area from the southern direction from Kohombagastenna in the Ampara - Batticaloa district border to launch a lightning assault on the Tiger cadres manning the area. It was completely a surprise move for the LTTE as they were expecting the troops either from Maha Oya side, Chenakalai or Vavunativu area. The infantry troops from the four infantry battalions were also inducted to consolidate the areas captured after flushing out LTTE cadres.

Then troops moved in small groups in a northern direction clearing Tiger threats until they captured strategic Vavunathivu from the Tiger grip on March 25. A major confrontation was reported from the Unnichchiya tank area on March 8 in which six terrorists were killed and 20 others injured.

After the capture of strategic Vavunathivu from the Tiger grip, troops extended their operation to clear Kokkadichcholai, Kurukkalmadam, Appalamthurai, Mavalimunai and Vellaveli. The Kokkadicholai Tiger nerve centre fell to the Security Forces on March 28.

The capture of the Kokkadicholai was the landmark of this operation as troops could capture sophisticated conference halls, medical centres and a large haul of weapons from this nerve centre of the Eastern Command of the LTTE. In the face of the advancing Light Infantry troops of the Sri Lanka Army, the Tigers left most of their weapons and fled.

The Army also described the camp as the point of origin of artillery attacks directed against the diplomatic officials and Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe in which US and Italian ambassadors were injured.

With the fall of Kokkadicholai, troops took a large area south and west of Batticaloa town under their control after creating a sort of a defence line connecting Vavunathivu and Unnichchiya areas covering the A-5 road from the Eastern sector.

Then onwards the troops continued their humanitarian mission to capture the A-5 Chenkaladi - Maha Oya road with the task of liberating the area to facilitate the return of the civilian population displaced from the area and enabling people to travel from Batticaloa to Badulla using the shortest possible road.

They succeeded in their efforts on April 11,2007 afternoon after taking full control of the Badulla - Maha Oya - Chenkaladi road confining an estimated 200 to 300 Tiger cadres to a 150 square kilometre jungle patch in Thoppigala.

The happy news came as the country was preparing to celebrate the Sinahala, Tamil New Year.

During the whole operation, according to Security Forces, 180 LTTE cadres were confirmed killed and 133 LTTE were wounded. The figure had been finalised through the recovery of LTTE bodies and through intercepted radio transmissions of the LTTE and through the statements of LTTE cadres who surrendered.

The areas captured by the Security Forces were handed over to the Police Special Task Force and the Police to maintain law and order in the area and to facilitate the resettlement of displaced civilians.

Though the mission appeared to be a simple operation for outside observers the Security Forces had to take strategic decisions to make their mission successful.

First they had to take care of the nearly a 100,000 civilian population who had been displaced from their villages while facing severe criticism from various quarters of society over the displaced civilians.

However, the Security Forces were able to manage all those pressures and also thwart desperate LTTE attempts to blow off their defences using suicide cadres to make their mission successful.

The LTTE also directed mortar fire on civilians in Santhiveli, Sittandi and Morakotachchenai areas killing eight civilians and injuring 25 civilians.

Through the successful completion of the last lap of the Security Forces mission in the East, they have been able to take full control of the entire civilian population in the Eastern province bordering Yan Oya in the North of Trincomalee and towards the southern tip of Ampara district bordering the sea.

The LTTE’s already diminishing presence in the east was reduced to a mere 140 square kilo metres of jungle land in Thoppigala. Barans Cap or famously known Thoppigala jungle area in Batticaloa close to the Polonnaruwa district border is located, 220km east of Colombo.

LTTE’s largest camp in the east, which is called the Beirut base is located in this region. This base had been the heart of LTTE operations in Batticaloa sector for a long time.

With the capture of the areas in the South and West of Batticaloa, the troops later focussed on this strategic and famous Baron’s Cap area in fully eliminating the LTTE from the Eastern jungles.