Defence

Troops poised to rescue trapped civilians:

Tiger leader in move to flee country accepting his defeat

LTTE on the verge of collapse:

Ranil WIJAYAPALA

The LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran along with his Deputy Pottu Amman, who had a narrow escape from being caught by the Security Forces, might be conducting a post mortem to the incident that ended last Sunday. More than 75 per cent of its leadership and the LTTE lost their last stronghold Puthukudiyiruppu to the Security Forces.

The LTTE leader, who groomed these so-called terror leaders for more than three decades, would not have thought that they would have to face such a destiny. All his second and third level leaders got killed in battle.

What LTTE leader never imagined even in his dreams unfolded in reality last Sunday as the 58 Division commanded by Brigadier Shavendra Silva and 53 Division commanded by Major General Kamal Gunaratne finished off the long siege on the last one square km in Puthukudiyirippu stronghold clearing the entire area after fierce battle with the Tiger leaders and cadres trapped inside.

Biggest defeat

Though LTTE had faced defeat after defeat for the past two and half years, according to senior military officials, they did not face a defeat of this magnitude ever in its history. They lost their all strongholds but never lost their top level leaders in such large numbers at any of the battles they had ever fought.

Therefore, the military manoeuvre by the 58 Division and the 53 Division under the directives of Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka, will go down not in the military history of Sri Lanka but also into the world history on fight against terrorism as the most effective and efficient military manoeuvre that caused the death of more than 75 per cent leadership of a terror outfit, more especially of the most ruthless terror outfit in the world.

If LTTE had a strength to sustain as a terror outfit, all that strength perished once they lost their last stronghold, Puthukudiyiruppu as they have lost all the leaders who could steer the organisation.

Therefore, the LTTE which still maintains a considerable number of cadres lacks, the capability to direct them into a battle at its last stages of existence in the No Fire Zone. Therefore, the siege on their last territory has become a very decisive turning point in the existence of the LTTE as a terror organisation as its strong structure has been shattered after this massive military blow on its leadership.

Now LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has been left only with his Intelligence Wing leader Pottu Amman and Sea Tiger leader Soosai.

But it is still a question as to why LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran who was aware of the military siege even a day ahead the military operation had put the lives of such a massive number of Tiger leaders at peril.

In one hand the Tiger leader displayed his selfishness or he failed to give leadership to remaining Tiger cadres to rescue the trapped cadres inside Puthukudiyiruppu.

According to the military there had been a long silence inside Puthukudiyiruppu once troops lay siege on it on April 1. It very clearly indicated that the move by the 58 and 53 Divisions had surprisingly encircled the Tiger cadres inside the last terrain they held inside Puthukudiyiruppu and Iranapalai.

As described in this column last week the 58 Division troops made a North to South move from Ampalavanpokkanai to Pachchapulmudai junction whilst 53 Division troops made South to North move to completely surround more than one sq km terrain held by the LTTE.

The move was basically planned as the troops operating in Puthukudiyiruppu North and Iranapalai area faced heavy resistance from the LTTE. The nature of the resistance very clearly indicated that the top rung Tiger leaders were operating inside that terrain as troops could not advance even 100 meters per day at the last days of the operations they conducted in Iranapalai.

At the initial stage troops never expected such a large number of Tiger cadres inside that terrain but it was Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka who consistently maintained that more than 400 cadres are trapped inside Iranapalai area.

Defences Strengthened

The 58 Division and the 53 Division expecting a massive counter attack strengthened their defences surrounding the Iranapalai area as the number of Tiger cadres trapped inside the terrain were large in numbers.

The 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion, 9 Gemunu Watch battalion, 8, 12 and 20 Gajaba Regiment battalions were engaged in this operation from the 58 Division whilst 5 Vijayaba Infantry Regiment and 6 Gajaba Regiment attached to the 53 Division took part in surrounding this terrain.

Therefore, it was impossible for the LTTE to break the Security Forces Defences either to flee from the area or for the Tigers break the defences behind to rescue the Tiger cadres trapped inside.

But, Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran or Intelligence Wing leader Pottu Amman could not launch an effective counter attack to rescue Tiger cadres although they promised to send reinforcements to the area in support of the Tiger cadres trapped inside.

It was under these circumstances the Tiger leaders had to face their death at the hands of the Security Forces.

Theepan, the LTTE overall operation commander was the most senior military leader to be killed in this battle. LTTE Women’s Wing leaders Vithusha from the Malathi Brigade and Thurga from the Sothya Brigade were also among the 12 Tiger leaders killed in this battle.

LTTE artillery leader Manivannan, former Eastern Intelligence Wing leader Keerthi, Batticaloa leader Nagulan, Ratha Brigade leader Seelamabaran, Mortar leader Gopal, Gadafi former bodyguard of Prabhakaran, Charles Anthony Brigade leader Amithab were also killed in the battle.

The next senior most military leader Bhanu has also sustained critical injuries but managed to escape from the area before troops surrounded the area.

However, there were speculations that he also succumbed to his injuries later but there was no confirmation from the LTTE side about his death.

The death of Theepan created a large vacuum into the military wing of the LTTE as he was the man who managed to keep the Security Forces in Muhamalai and Kilali constructing massive defences along that terrain.

His body was collected by the 6 Gajaba Regiment troops attached to the 53 Division. According to the Army more than 520 Tiger cadres have been killed in this battle and it has been confirmed through the bodies collected by the troops inside Iranapalai and North East of Puthukudiyiruppu area.

The LTTE radio transmissions itself has confirmed that 570 Tiger cadres were killed during this battle.

Unlike in the past the LTTE this time cannot cover up their humiliating defeat in their last stronghold as all their leaders got killed without leaving any room for them to escape from the area.

Most significant

The most significant fact here is that the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, at last put all the Tiger leaders in danger and continued to survive mingling with the Tamil civilians living inside the No Fire Zone.

At last, the leader who made false promises to the Tamil Diaspora across the globe through the pro-LTTE media network, has to accept the fact that their organisation has been totally defeated by the Sri Lankan Security Forces following the fall of Puthukudiyiruppu which had been developed by the LTTE for the past 25 years as their clandestine operational centre.

But the Security Forces who completed the mission in Puthukudiyiruppu are now getting ready to have a giant leap forward to rescue the civilians trapped inside the No-Fire-Zone crossing the massive terrain between Puthukudiyiruppu and the lagoon separating the No-Fire-Zone and the mainland.

The 58 Division under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva has already reached the edges of the No-Fire-Zone from the Western direction and are operating just outside the No-Fire-Zone.

Although there were media reports to indicate that the 58 Division has already entered the No-Fire-Zone there was no truth behind that story as they were operating outside the No-Fire-Zone as of yesterday.

As 58 Division troops reached the boundaries of the No-Fire-Zone from the Western direction, the 53 Division too is poised to the reach the Western edge of the No-Fire-Zone along the A-35 road and was above to reach their goal soon. The 55 Division operating in the North of Puthumattalan is also yet to reach the Northern edge of the No Fire Zone.

Therefore, the Security Forces are now heading towards the biggest hostage rescue mission in the world, as described by Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka.

Final goal

As troops reach towards their final goal it has been reported that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran who had taken refuge in Vellamullaivaikkal in the No-Fire-Zone is in the process of constructing a massive earth bund to prevent Security Forces entering into the No Fire Zone.

The fleeing civilians have revealed that the LTTE is increasing the pressure on the civilians living there and trying their best to keep the civilians under their arrest without allowing them to flee from the area.

The heavy rains pouring into Puthukudiyiruppu and towards the No-Fire-Zone for the past few days have made the life of these civilians more miserable. It has put both Security Forces and civilian life difficult in that terrain.

However, the Security Forces are monitoring the activities inside the No-Fire-Zone that has more than 23,000 tents put up for the civilians.

But there is no confirmation that all those tents were occupied by the civilians. The motive of the LTTE is to exaggerate the number of civilians trapped inside.

The international community that is keenly observing the plight of the civilians trapped inside could be easily misled by the large number of tents inside the No Fire Zone.

As the troops are poised to enter the No-Fire-Zone it has been reported that the Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is making an effort to flee the country apparently with the assistance of Norwegian Government. Although there had been no official intimation about the discussions the LTTE had with the Norwegian Government it has been reported that the LTTE Political leader Nadesan had lengthy discussion with the Norwegians about the situation there in the No Fire Zone.

Diplomatic sources indicate that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has apparently agreed to a rescue mission by a Western country. He has agreed to this offer after he lost all his top level leaders in the Puthukudiyiruppu battle as there is no point for him to operate there in the No-Fire-Zone without the ability to give leadership to the remaining cadres.

Amidst this situation the US Ambassador Robert Blake who met Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka this week had apparently made a request for him to agree to a seven days ceasefire to rescue the civilians trapped inside the No Fire Zone.

But the Army Commander has reportedly said that any decision to enter into ceasefire should be taken by the Government but has agreed to have a 48-hour pause in firing if there is a guarantee that civilians are allowed to move out of the No-Fire-Zone freely.

Therefore, diplomatic moves are now on to get the LTTE agreed to allow the civilians to move out of the No Fire Zone. However, the Government also maintains the position that it will not agree to any ceasefire with the LTTE at this juncture as possibilities are very high that the LTTE may use such an opportunity to strengthen itself or to flee the country with the support of outsiders.

The Government and the Security Forces are determined to rescue the civilians safely and also to see an end to LTTE terror once and for all. So the coming days will be very critical as troops are poised to go ahead with their strategy to free the trapped civilians and bring relief to the entire nation.