Advancing troops brave lashing rains to reach Tiger hole

by Ranil WIJAYAPALA

The monsoonal rains lashing the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts have completely changed the scenario in the battlefront. Heavy downpours were being experienced like in Colombo there, but in a completely different atmosphere. The newly cleared routes through the jungle patches to the front lines are getting flooded making it difficult to manouvre vehicles on the roads.

Only four wheel vehicles can get through the muddy holes whilst others are getting bogged down in muddy terrains making the roads completely impassable. Then it is again the soldiers carrying out their task despite the heavy rains, having to clear these roads, once again toiling to get these bogged down vehicles out of these tracks to make the road passable.

The most pathetic situation arises once it comes to casualty evacuation. Troops have to bring them on their shoulders a long way and pass them to tractors to be taken to Advance Dressing Stations and then to hospitals by ambulances. The rain has made all their activities difficult.

If confronting the enemy in a normal battleground in which they have to cross mine fields and evade booby traps amidst stiff resistance of the enemy is routine, it is hundred times more difficult to fight the enemy in a flooded battlefront where administration has become a difficult task.

In other words, they have to eat, they have to sleep, they have to walk and they have to fight in the rain. No shelter over their heads to avoid getting their bodies wet from the rain or to dry their cloths. As such, the troops in the front lines live with their wet cloths for days. They don’t get any chance to get their clothes dried. In brief, rain has become part of their life.

Even the field commanders who used to visit the front lines on daily basis are struggling with their vehicles as it is difficult to pass these muddy terrains in vehicles. Instead, they have to trek it to these lines, putting their lives in risk.

Yet, the field commanders say that things have not yet worsened to the level that prevailed during the rainy period last year in which the entire jungle flooded making each of their moves a difficult one. It was worse in the Mannar front as they had to cross massive open terrains in the Mannar Rice Bowl without any cover over their head and even without a single trench line to get cover from the enemy in their advance.

They can remember the successes they achieved after capturing the difficult open terrains under worst weather conditions. It was due to the confidence derived from that commitment and the determination they had in their mind set that put them on the victorious march towards Kilinochchi.

They now see the end of the tunnel and can see that they are only a few kilometers away to gain the final victory against the LTTE. So, they are not willing to give up the efforts they made for the last two years as they are aware that there is no one to turn the tide against the LTTE though there is a big campaign in Tamil Nadu to stop the military thrust on the LTTE under the cover of defending the rights of the Tamil civilians entrapped in Wanni.

A significant feature is that the Sri Lankan issue has become a domestic issue in India as politicians in Tamil Nadu have taken this issue as their slogan to secure their political survival at the upcoming general elections, according to political and defence analysts commenting on this issue.

But many are of the view that the Sri Lanka Security Forces are in a much advantageous situation in their bid to defeat the LTTE and there is no room for any intervention into the Sri Lankan situation by the Central Government of India.

It was amidst these turbulent weather conditions and the stormy political conditions in India over the Sri Lankan situation that troops went ahead with their military thrust on the LTTE in Kilinochchi South, Kilinochchi district West and in the Mullaitivu battle fronts taking the enemy strongholds by surprise moves.

The most significant victory, the Security Forces achieved this week was the capture of the 15 Km long earth bund from Jayapuram in the North East of Nachchikuda to Akkarayankulam tank by the troops attached to the Task Force I troops and the 57 Division troops.

A major portion of this 15 Km earth bund came under the Task Force I troops and only five Kilometres were within the 57 Division area in the West of Akkarayankulam.

However, the Task Force I troops were left with only one kilometre stretch East of Vannerikulam tank to be captured as they were in full control of the other nine kilometres stretch by last week.

Therefore, the main task to capture five kilometres stretch of earth bund in the East of Vannerikulam and Akkarayankulam lay with the 57 Division and troops achieved that task within this week completely taking the earth bund under their control by Wednesday afternoon with 12 Sinha Regiment troops attached to the 571 Brigade under the command of Colonel G.V. Ravipriya capturing the last stretch of the earth bund.

It was amidst this situation, fierce battle erupted in the South and South West of Kilinochchi commencing from last Saturday, October 18 leaving heavy casualties on both sides, but taking the earth bund under the control of the troops. Troops also foiled so many counter attacks by the LTTE to capture the earth bund which was a vital defence line for them.

This time the LTTE failed in their attempts to recapture the earth bund as they had engaged the entire earth bund at once if they were to be successful in their effort as the entire line was simultaneously engaged by the troops leaving no room for them to single out one stretch and recapture it as it happened on earlier occasions.

Though there was no significant advance from the South West of Kilinochchi, towards the outskirts of Kilinochchi which is only one half kilometres away from the South West edge, the troops attached to the Task Force I made steady progress towards the North advancing ten kilometres from the Jayapuram village to Vannerikulam towards 5.5 kilometres North of the earth bund.

Troops attached to Task Force -I advanced towards these new territories amidst stiff resistance from the LTTE. On Friday they expanded their defences capturing Kunchikulam, Parayakulam and Anaiveluttan areas identified by the names of the tanks located in these areas capturing a total of 6.5 square kilometres under them.

In many of these areas the LTTE has controlled the areas having constructed strong points and deploying their cadres into these strong points. Troops stormed several of these Tiger strong points in their bid to capture these areas.

On daily basis troops recovered Tiger bodies and got confirmation of the deaths of at least ten Tiger cadres a day. At this point Tiger outfit is facing severe difficulties in mobilizing cadres to reinforce the depleting cadres in the battlefronts.

The moves of the Task Force I troops towards the North taking control of the Mannar Pooneryn Road from the North of Nachchikuda is becoming vital as it is going to be a big blow to the LTTE, as these moves completely denied the LTTE of their links with South India to have their supplies.

One of the most vital moves by the Task Force -I troops under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva is the taking control of the Mannar Pooneryn A-32 road from the North of Nachchikuda giving a natural death to Nachchikuda, the last available fishing village in the Western coast which is being strongly hold by the LTTE upto now.

Once troops cut off the road that links Nachchikuda and Vallaipadu the LTTE will have to abandon Nachchikuda as there is no other troop move further northward from the interior towards Pooneryn.

Though LTTE is having strong desire to dominate this area too by deploying cadres of their depleting ranks with large numbers killed because they are left with no other option but to abandon these places which are with vital values to them.

Therefore, the battles in the coming week in the areas surrounded from the Nachchikuda-Kokavil Road from the Southern line, A-9 Road from Murikandi to Paranthan on the Eastern edge, A-32 road Nachchikuda to Pooneryn from the Western edge and from Pooneryn-Paranthan Road from the Northern edge will be crucial when deciding the future of the LTTE.

This stretch of area has already been abandoned by the people and the loss of this section of land to LTTE would leave the LTTE in one of its miserable positions as they are going to deprive the last life line available from the Western coast soon, set aside the loss of Kilinochchi which will herald the downfall of the LTTE.

Even from the Eastern side in the Mullaitivu South front troops are making steady progress, capturing Tiger strongholds from Thannimurippukulam area to South and South West of Nayaru Lagoon.

It was amidst these developments troops operating in the Weli Oya front took control over the Gajabapura village located North of Ethavetunuvewa. According to sources LTTE is abandoning the areas they were holding in the jungle patches in Mullaitivu and Vavuniya districts as they cannot hold these areas due to the acute shortage of man power.

LTTE leadership is also engage in various experiments in the process of deploying their cadres in their bid to avoid the humiliating defeat awaiting for them. All these experiments are aimed at delaying the troops advance into de-facto capital Kilinochchi and military stronghold Mullaitivu.

The LTTE leadership, according to military intelligence has decided to deploy cadres from the Charles Anthony and Imran Pandyan brigades into the battlefront. At present they are having a mixture of cadres in the front lines since large number of Charles Anthony and Imran Pandyan cadres got killed in the battle front during the past few months.

Even female cadres were deployed in the front lines though they were withdrawn from the battlefront with large number of female cadres got killed in the battlefront.

What LTTE is trying to do through these new experiments is to delay the certain defeat they have to face and take time to change the international support towards taking the innocent civilians entrapped in Wanni into ransom.

The LTTE had deployed many of its cats paws to change the international community’s attitude towards civilians entrapped there and thereby bring pressure on the Government to stop the military thrust.

However, LTTE’s true image once again exposed on Wednesday as they tried to blow off two merchant vessels , MV-”Nimalawa” and MV-”Ruhunu” which were carrying humanitarian assistance to the North, in the Northern seas around 5 a.m. on Wednesday.

Two LTTE suicide boats were completely destroyed and one was captured by the Navy patrol craft reacting immediately to the terrorist attempt on the two merchant ships on a humanitarian assistance mission. One of the ships received minor damages due to a close explosion.

Investigations have not confirmed from which direction the LTTE had launched these suicide craft into the sea, as they cannot be easily detected by the radar screen in rough seas.

One of Navy’s Dvora’s was destroyed in the sea off Mullaitivu few months ago with LTTE launching one of this type suicide boats into the sea.

If LTTE succeeded in their mission to destroy the ships which were carrying humanitarian assistance from Colombo to the civilians in the Northern peninsula, the LTTE could have deprived the essential supplies coming into the Jaffna peninsula too.

However, their short sighted act bounced back on them as the entire Jaffna peninsula protested against this move. Therefore, the international community would understand the true nature of the LTTE and the way they are fighting on behalf of the Tamil community.