Military closing in on LTTE’s last bastion:

Fierce fighting erupts as battlefront shifts to Kilinochchi

Forces continue their military thrust despite their commitment to ensure security for the 15th SAARC Summit

by Ranil WIJAYAPALA

As a 19,000 contingent of Police and Security Forces personnel were providing security for the 15th SAARC summit inaugurated in Colombo yesterday with the participation of Heads of States from eight South Asian nations with emphasis on finding ways and means of fighting terrorism in the region, Sri Lanka has made a giant leap in its fight against LTTE terror by confining their presence only to three administrative districts in the country.

It is highly impressive to note the SAARC leaders arriving in the island amidst various campaigns by various elements at a time when Sri Lanka is engaged in a massive fight in the Wanni and Northern battlefronts against LTTE terror without falling into the trap of fake truce offer by the LTTE in view of the SAARC Summit.

The participation of all SAARC leaders at the 15th SAARC summit hosted by Sri Lanka is highly encouraging as it gives a clear message to the international community that the SAARC nations have not isolated Sri Lanka at this decisive moment at which it is engaged in a decisive battle against the LTTE.

The participation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite tremendous political pressure from Tamil Nadu, is also highly encouraging for Sri Lanka. In fact, he is the first Congress Prime Minister to visit Sri Lanka after the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who arrived in Sri Lanka to sign Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord in 1987 and was subsequently assassinated by the LTTE.

His presence at the 15th SAARC Summit is also important in the context of the failed LTTE efforts to create a rift between the two countries under the cover of the alleged Indian fishermen issue.

At the same time it is highly impressive to observe that the eight SAARC countries which have been affected from terrorism at different levels are sitting together at one forum and discussing a common agenda to fight against the menace of terrorism at the regional level, setting aside their differences.

The unanimous voice of the eight SAARC leaders determined to fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism at the inauguration of the Summit, also indicated that it was a common problem faced by the South Asian nations, the most affected by terrorism in the world after Iraq.

Therefore, it is highly expected that the 15th SAARC Summit would become the most effective one to unite the entire South Asian region against terrorism.

As security in Colombo is tightened in view of the Summit with the deployment of the biggest ever contingent of Security Forces and Police personnel fierce fighting continued in the Wanni battlefront yesterday too as the LTTE made a desperate bid to defend their stronghold in Wanni.

The troops attached to the 58 Division operating in the Mannar front under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva made a historic move on Thursday with troops entering into Kilinochchi district where LTTE is having their final stronghold.

According to the military, this is the first time the Security Forces have advanced into Kilinochchi district after commencing military operations from the South. During the Jaya Sikuru operation troops advanced only up to Olumadu in the North of Mankulam but could not reach the Kilinochchi district border from the South either on the A-9 road or from A-32 road, although troops dominated certain areas in the Kilinochchi district after advancing from the Elephant Pass direction.

The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera and Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka flew to Mannar to get a first hand account of the Mannar front and met, the Mannar Area Commander Brigadier Channa Gunatilleka, General Officer Commanding of the 58 Division Brigadier Shavendra Silva and the field commanders at the 58 Division headquarters in Mannar.

The intention of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s visit to Mannar was to pay his tribute to the gallant troops for their commendable achievement in the battlefront during the past few months.

The visit of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa also came at a time when only one Tiger base is left in the whole of Mannar district for the troops to take under their control. Heavy fighting erupted in Vellankulam, the single Tiger location left in the Mannar district hours after the defence delegation left Mannar after observing the situation there and paying tribute to the field commanders and the soldiers for their gallantry.

Obviously the discussion at this meeting would have focused on the holding of the areas liberated by the 58 Division in the Mannar front as troops have already entered Kilinochchi district having finished their task in the Mannar district.

The fall of Vellankulam too was imminent by yesterday at the time this newspaper was going to press as troops have already surrounded this last Tiger stronghold in the Mannar district from three directions operating just one kilo metre South of Vellankulam.

Troops have also cut off supplies to Vellankulam from the east after cutting off the Vellankulam - Thunukkai Mallavi road. Fierce fighting erupted in Vellankulam for the last three days with troops capturing two defence lines in the South of Vellankulam killing at least 15 Tiger cadres.

Even at the moment troops were advancing further northward of Vellankulam-Thunukkai road. Tiger cadres operating there were not aware of the troops’ presence there as they were freely moving in the North of Vellankulam.

The troops attached to the 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion launched a surprise attack on a LTTE tractor in the North of Vellankulam on Thursday, killing number of Tiger cadres.

With the fall of Vellankulam, the entire Mannar district comes under the control of Security Forces. Within the past one month the troops attached to the 58 Division have advanced 27 Kilometres after the liberation of the Mannar Rice Bowl. The 58 Division which began operations in the Mannar front in September last year have killed 2,500 Tiger cadres during the battles during their mission to liberate the Mannar district.

These figures have been confirmed through intercepted radio transmissions of the LTTE. As indicated in this column at several occasions the death notices pasted on the walls of the Tiger strongholds captured by the Security Forces bear testimony to the number of Tiger cadres killed in the battlefront.

With the liberation of the entire Mannar district from the clutches of the LTTE, the holding of the area will be a massive task for the military as it requires a large number of troops and the task will most probably be undertaken by the Mannar Area headquarters by deploying troops in the newly liberated areas.

The Sri Lanka Navy can also play a keyrole in dominating the coastal belt from North of Mannar to Vellankulam as the locations like Viddathalthivu and Illuppakdavai can facilitate their sea operations in the North Western coast to detect Tiger boat movements.

The liberation of the Mannar district by the troops will be highlighted with the conveying of the sacred statue of ‘Our Lady of Madhu’ back to Mannar to be taken to Madhu shrine with the completion of mine clearings by the Army.

Security Forces Commander in Wanni, Major General Jagath Jayasuriya has already given the green light for the Church authorities to conduct religious rituals in the Madhu shrine which has already been repaired by the troops.

The holy statue of Our Lady of Madhu is due to be taken to the Madhu shrine within the next week to facilitate the conduct of the Madhu feast. That will complete the mission of liberating the Mannar district more meaningfully as the liberation of Mannar will not be complete without the Madhu feast.

As troops in the Mannar were moving into the Kilinochchi district, the LTTE too was making changes in the commanding positions, with Theepan, the overall commander for the Jaffna FDLs, taking the command of the Kilinochchi battlefront.

Intelligence reports also indicated that Theepan is shifting his cadres in the Jaffna front towards Thunukkai and Mallavi front as the fall of these two locations considered to be most important Tiger administrative centres in the West of A9 road, is imminent with the advance of troops to the edges of Thunukkai and Mallavi.

With these developments troops marching towards Thunukkai and Mallavi faced stiff resistance on Friday with barrages of mortar and artillery directing against the advancing troops in the South of Mallavi.

At least 12 soldiers were killed and number of others sustained injuries during these confrontations compelling the troops to readjust their defences from the areas they advanced on Friday in the South of Mallavi.

It has been proved that Theepan has commanded the battle after shifting his cadres from the Muhamalai front as they are running short of Tiger cadres to dominate the FDLs in the Wanni front.

This clearly indicates that the LTTE has realised the real danger they are going to face in the coming months with many of their strongholds coming under the threat of the Security Forces.

The strategic moves by the Security Forces have left the LTTE with no other option but to withdraw more toward Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, the most vital stronghold the LTTE is having at present in the West of A-9 road.

Unlike in the past the LTTE cannot move into the thick jungles in Mullaitivu as they are now dominated by the Security Forces operating in the Vavuniya and Weli Oya front.

Therefore, the areas left for the LTTE cadres to withdraw from are limited to those on the A-9 road and in the North.

The main problem they would face in the coming few weeks is that all their vital strongholds are coming under the threat of the Security Forces, restricting their capability to manoeuvre their cadres from one place to the other.

At this point it is important to find out the destiny of the civilians entrapped in Wanni as intelligence reports indicate that the LTTE had forcibly taken the civilians entrapped in Vellankulam further northwards to Nachchikuda area located some eight Kilometres North of Vellankulam.

The only factor hindering the Security Forces effort to capture remaining areas in the North is the civilian populations forcibly retained in Wanni by the LTTE. Otherwise, it would have been easy for the security forces to direct firepower against the identified Tiger locations through long-range artilleries.

However, the Security Forces too will have to face stiff resistance from the LTTE in the coming months as they are shifting their long-range artillery towards the centre of Wanni with the fall of their strongholds one after the other. Therefore, if the LTTE is maintaining stocks of artillery and mortars with them, the situation will be worse for the Security Forces, it is speculated.

On the other hand the danger will be minimized as the troops are left with wider range of options in their bid to take control of the Kilinochchi heartland which is only 24 to 25 kilometres from the current defences.

Troops in the Weli Oya front are confronting the LTTE killing at least five to ten Tiger cadres a day. According to intelligence reports Swarnam, who is commanding the Tiger cadres in the Mullaitivu is apparently losing his command as cadres operating in the front are not maintaining any contacts with the leadership.

Therefore the Tiger cadres operating in the Mullaitivu front are in disarray as the orders of their leaders have gone unheeded.

Therefore, the Security Forces are taking the upper hand in the Wanni liberation operation in entertaining the hope that the survival of the LTTE is increasingly becoming limited. Therefore the combine efforts by the Security Forces will enable to achieve the set target of defeating LTTE terrorism ahead of the schedule.