Forces poised to open land route to Jaffna, cut off Tiger supply lines

Intense fighting expected; LTTE creating human shield in Iranamadu:

(Following a visit to joint Vavuniya Mannar front after the capture of Thunukkai)

They have become real warriors after two years of experience after being engaged in a real warfare against the Tiger outfit. The soldiers in the joint Vavuniya and Mannar front move into the jungle with heavy baggage on their back, weapons and ammunition in their arms in search of Tiger cadres and confront them fearlessly.

Despite the heavy burden they engage in fighting on the doorstep of the Tiger stronghold in Kilinochchi.

After two years of fighting the soldiers have reached the most decisive phase where they confront the enemy face to face after passing the stage where they engage the enemy with indirect weapons. Now they have come to the doorstep of Kilinochchi the heart of the undeclared ‘state’ of the Tigers.

The battle is going to be a tough one in the coming days. Not that the battle the Security Forces fought earlier was easy. But, at this decisive phase, the LTTE is going to fight a do or die battle, first to defend their territory and secondly to keep their reputation as the most ruthless terror outfit of the world.

Therefore the outcome of the battle is going to be a more serious one. The number of casualties could increase as the fighting intensifies in this terrain. But it is very difficult for the LTTE to face this much of pressure at once.

The pressure is coming from four or five fronts. From the West the 58 Division is confronting the LTTE in the Kilinochchi district, in the middle the 57 Division is confronting the LTTE in the South of Kilinochchi and in the West it is the 59 Division taking on the LTTE south of Mullaitivu.

They have to face the Security Forces round the clock as Security Forces are not allowing them to relax even a single moment. So the requirements of the LTTE are very high at this moment mostly in terms of manpower as they have to deploy thousands of their cadres at once to face the troops infiltrating their territory.

According to field commanders of the Army, they are giving a hard time for the Tiger cadres operating in Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi border west of the A-9 road.

The morale of the Security Forces is very high after they captured the much secured Thunukkai town on Friday with columns of troops surrounding this tactically important town from various directions compelling the Tiger cadres who had been operating there for the past two and half decades to hastily pack their belongings.

The abandoned armour plated tractor which had been used by the LTTE to distribute food for the Tiger cadres operating there and few other vehicles gives the

impression that it was an unexpected moment for them to withdraw from this tactically important town.

The troops of the 7 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) battalion are proudly showing what they have captured in Thunukkai.

The Commanding Officer of the 7 SLLI Lt. Colonel Ranjith Abeyratne and 572 Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel. Senerath Bandara who commanded the battle in Thunukkai were there to share their proud movement in Thunukkai.

Although the name gives the impression that it is a big town in Wanni, only a few Government buildings and private residences are there.

Except for the school buildings and other buildings provided by the Government, there is no sign that the LTTE had done any justice for the people who lived there under the control of the LTTE for the past 25 years.

Their only intention was to keep those towns only to claim their illusionary Tamil Eelam state. But it has been used as one of their tactically important bases to control both Mannar and Vavuniya fronts.

The location of the Thunukkai town is tactically important, as the LTTE could reach Vellankulam on the Mannar Pooneryn A-32 road and Mankulam on the Jaffna Kandy A-9 road within 30 minutes. Now the Tiger outfit has no control over this town with the troops capturing it on August 22.

The real depth of Thunukkai town came from the Kalvilan village which was captured by the troops a week before. That was where the LTTE located all their indirect weapons to stop the advance of the troops into this tactically important town.

But capturing Thunukkai was not the end of the battle. They advansed further northwards. A group of soldiers operating in Alankulam, a village located three

Kilometres North of Thunukkai are confronting with the LTTE. The LTTE has deployed their well trained cadres into this terrain after they lost Thunukkai.

The indirect fire power cannot push them back. “They are taking cover of the bunkers when artillery and mortars fired at them and they again come out the bunkers and fired at us,” the soldiers told us.

“The battle is becoming intense. Our troops are facing it effectively,” the 572 Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Senerath Bandara added.

As the troops of the 572 Brigade are taking the battlefront towards North of Thunukkai the troops attached to 573 Brigade under the command of Lt. Colonel. Prathap Thillekeratne are engaged in a major thrust to capture Mallavi, the other important town located on the Vellankulam Mankulam road.

The situation has become more intense in the battlefront of the 58 Division, operating under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva which is completely operating within the Kilinochchi district, after capturing Mulangavil one of the most fertile lands in the Kilinochchi district where LTTE had their massive cultivations to feed their cadres.

The real thrust the Security Forces are now facing is to cross the massive earth bunt with a ditch constructed by the LTTE from south of Nachchikuda to West of Akkarayankulam an earth bunt stretch for more than 22 Kilometres.

On August 22, troops attached the 58 Division and the Commando troops captured the edge of this earth bunt which was to be constructed upto A- 9 road creating a massive defence line connecting A-32 road and A-9 road.

The LTTE had to abandon the construction of this earth bunt halfway with commando troops capturing the edge of this earth bunt.

Moving through this thick jungle patch in the Kilinochchi district troops are now capturing sections of this earth bunt after killing dozens of Tiger cadres daily.

On Wednesday the troops attached to 58 Division held nearly two kilometre stretch of this earth bunt after moving into the bunt with a massive air attack on the earth bunt using MI -24 s and MiG 27s.

This stretch of earth bunt was located East of Nachchikuda and West of Vannerikulam village. But troops had withdrawn from this location as troops also sustained number of casualties during this pitched battle.

The idea is now clear. The Security Forces operating in the joint Vavuniya and Mannar front are making inroads northwards either to reach Pooneryn or Kilinochchi.

One of the most important objectives of this military advance is that troops are controlling the entire area in the South Western coast cutting off all the supply routes linking the North Western coastal belt with the interior Tiger bases. So the LTTE has no other option other than deploying its full strength and fighting against the advansing troops.

With these tactical moves by the Security Forces the Tiger strongholds in the North Western coast, including the Nachchikuda Sea Tiger base, are going to automatically fall to the hands of the Security Forces as they cannot exist in this terrain further without any supplies from Kilinochchi.

Therefore, by means of wedging a defence line between A-9 road and A-32 road, the Security Forces are taking multiple advantages when operating on the Northern battlefront. Through such a move the Security Forces can secure the Mannar-Pooneryn road.

The most important aspect is that Security Forces can open a land route to Jaffna via the Pooneryn Sanguppiddi jetty cutting down more than half of the expenditure the Government has to bear in feeding the troops deployed in the Jaffna peninsula.

That will be a good alternative for the A-9 road to link the Jaffna peninsula with the South through another land route.

With such a move the intense pressure on the troops operating in the Jaffna peninsula will also be eased to a great extent as the troops going on vacation can be easily transported to Colombo through that road without taking a risky and more expensive journey by sea and air.

The troops also can make use of the reserve strength of troops deployed in the Jaffna peninsula and other resources for the decisive battles in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.

Apart from this Security Forces can starve the LTTE of arms and ammunition and other logistics support arriving there from the South Indian side. With the creation of such a situation the Security Forces can push the LTTE towards further west of A-9 road and keep them under pressure until they give up arms and enter the democratic path.

For this the Navy troops also have a good role to play by intensifying naval patrols on the North Western sea and in the deep sea covering the Mullaitivu area.

The troops are now in a more advantageous situation as they are now operating only 12 Kilometres away from the Kilinochchi centre and some 15 Kilometres south of Kilali lagoon.

As the situation is such the LTTE is expected to take maximum possible steps to stop the advance of the troops further northward towards Pooneryn and Kilaly. Therefore, heavy fighting is expected to erupt in the coming days as the LTTE is determined to defend their territory even by sacrificing thousands of their cadres or risking the lives civilians.

According to intelligence sources, the LTTE is creating a human shield in Iranamadu area where LTTE leader Prabhakaran has taken refuge. The creation of such a human shield is to stop air raids by the Air Force targeting his hideout.

However, signs emanating from the Wanni indicate that civilians are ready to flee the clutches of the LTTE at any moment as dozens of civilians are fleeing Wanni on a daily basis. A total of 29 Tamil civilians from the non-liberated areas in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi Districts have sought protection with Security Forces on Wednesday at Pulmoddai and Iluppaikkadavai.

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The abortive air raid of the LTTE

The Indra-II radars located in Vavuniya first detected the take off of two aircraft of the LTTE from a location from Mullaitivu, on Tuesday at 8.45 p.m. The message has been first conveyed to the officer in charge of the Air Defence System to alert the relevant authorities about this suspicious air movement.

With the sudden detection of the take off of the two Tiger aircraft the SLAF identified that they were moving towards the South along the coastal belt.

As it was obvious that the direction of the two aircraft was towards Trincomalee, the Colombo Air Force operation room gave a signal to Trincomalee to be alert on the situation.

As a precautionary measure instructions were given to switch off the lights in Trincomalee and to cut off communications systems in Trincomalee.

By this time the Sri Lanka Air Forces and the Sri Lanka Navy were ready with their Air Defence System and anti aircraft guns.

The entire Trincomalee town was under pitch darkness after the Air Defence System was activated when the two aircraft reached outside the Naval Base in Trincomalee. With the activation of the anti aircraft guns, one aircraft of the LTTE stopped its voyage without reaching its destination. The entire Trincomalee town was engulfed with fear with the booming sounds of the guns.

Amidst all these firing one aircraft managed to enter the Naval Base and dropped a bomb close to a billet of sailors. Four sailors were reportedly killed and ten others were injured.

The Security Forces believe the target of the LTTE was the Jet Liner, which transports 3,000 troops up and down from Trincomalee to Kankesanthurai.

It is believed that the LTTE missed the target as the entire area was in pitch darkness by the time they reached Trincomalee harbour area.

The LTTE aircraft returned to Mullaitivu within a few minutes after dropping the crude bomb inside Trincomalee Navy Base.

The SLAF had airborne some of their attack craft from Hingurakgoda and Anuradhapura but due to the short time frame taken for the operation they could not detect the two aircraft before they landed in Mullaitivu.

It was yet another desperate attempt by the LTTE to boost their deteriorating image with the international community and among the Tamil Diaspora distancing from the LTTE speedily.