Air Force to hunt top Tigers
No pause in anti-terror operations, says PM:
The Air Force will continue to track down the hiding places of LTTE
leaders and launch air attacks, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
said yesterday.
“Our Security Forces are targeting the hiding places and safehouses
of terrorist leaders to deal a mortal blow to the Tigers. They will not
stop the relentless pursuit of terrorists,” Prime Minister
Wickremanayake told reporters at a function in Ingiriya, in the
aftermath of the aerial attack that killed LTTE Political Wing chief S.P.
Thamilselvan.
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Ratnasiri
Wickremanayake |
The Prime Minister said the Government did not want to go in for a
fresh ceasefire. However, it was ready for unconditional talks, as it
has always been.
“It is the not the Government that left the negotiating table. It is
the LTTE which spurned the peace drive. Nevertheless, the Government
will be ready if they want to negotiate. But we will not stop
retaliating terror attacks even while discussions are going on,” he
added.
He noted that the terrorists had not only attacked Forces personnel,
Southern targets and Sinhala politicians, but also their own brethren.
The operations against the terrorists were planned and conducted by the
Security Forces.
“Our aim is to eliminate LTTE terrorism and bring peace to the
country.”
Citing the successful Kilinochchi attack, he dismissed allegations
that the Forces had lost their morale after certain setbacks recently.
“Our Forces are fully geared to face the enemy which conducts
cowardly attacks without coming out into the open. It is the duty of all
patriotic citizens to encourage heroic Forces personnel,” he asserted. |
