Tigers make last ditch for survival

Heavy rains, earth bunds no bar to troops as they make inroads to Tiger territory

“Although it is raining, it does not discourage us”,, a soldier said from battle front., “Rain is no obstacle for us to crush the enemy. We will do it!”

At the Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Parantha theatre of operations, the 57 Division General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Jagath Dias, the 58 Division GOC Brigadier Shavendra Silva and 59 Division GOC Brigadier Nandana Udawatte are coordinating the entire battle efforts under the direct supervision of Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, and also supervised and coordinated by Vavuniya Security Forces Commander Major General Jagath Jayasuriya.

Heavy rains notwithstanding, it was clear that the soldier was completely committed to his mission, even as he listened to his Commanding Officer’s instructions. It was evident that he had an extraordinary expertise in rifle shooting. Basically, he was a marksman. He would close his right eye and keep his left eye against the sniper rifle’s telescope to observe his enemy. At the moment he was carefully scrutinising many LTTE cadres moving in and out of a shelter on the other side of the earth bund put up by the Tigers in the Adampan area on the outskirts of Kilinochchi.

It was raining heavily, but it did not dampen his or his colleagues’ keenness to accomplish their mission for the country. Suddenly, the soldier spotted an LTTE cadre who was giving instructions to the others. He observed this particular person very carefully, and made sure he was the leader of the group. His movements were very quick and inside one of the shelters this Tiger leader was given cover by several cadres. But the cover was not complete. The soldier waited patiently and his patience was rewarded. He placed his finger on the sniper rifle trigger and waited for a perfect shot at the leader. The Tiger leader who was wearing a blackish shirt and brown pair of trousers entered his vision through the telescope. He cleared his vision of the target and gently pressed the trigger, and watched the Tiger leader falling dead. As soon as the leader was shot at, the LTTE cadres retaliated by firing towards the area from where the shot had come. It was too late. By then the soldiers had disappeared from the area. Killing such an LTTE leader or an area leader causes a significant loss to the Tiger outfit.

Major General Jagath Jayasuriya, a master in map reading, was in charge of coordinating the Forces along with the three commanders mentioned earlier. Yesterday, December 16, in the early morning, the 57 and 58 Divisions launched another offensive . The 58 Division moved towards the Pooneryn-Paranthan road as well as towards Adampan and the 57 Division from Adampan towards Kilinochchi. The 574 Brigade under Lt. Col. Senaka Wijesuriya advanced from Iranamadu south. The 574 brigade captured the earth bund and advanced further amidst heavy LTTE resistance.

At the same time, the 57 Division from Adampan was able to breach five positions along the Tiger-built earth bund and encountered LTTE cadres in the rain. The 58 Division too breached two positions on the Jaffna-Pooneryn road. A senior officer from the front said that pitched battles were raging. When the bunds were breached, the Tigers mounted counter-attacks, which the Army repulsed effectively backed by artillery, mortar and MBRL fire.

Meanwhile a senior officer at the thick of battle, said that Army intelligence had intercepted Tiger communications saying their casualties were mounting. At the same time Thileepan’s voice too had come on air instructing the LTTE cadres to fire with whatever last shots they had. The LTTE is pulling up its cadres Muhamalai area to the Kilinochchi and Paranthan areas.

One Tiger cadre had surrendered to the security forces at Muhamalai. He had told the Army that the cadres were by now deeply frustrated and that the LTTE was forcibly recruiting civilians to fight the battle. And even while this column is being written, furious fighting has been reported as raging in the said fronts.

Offensive formations
The Task force 3 – the newly created offensive formation commanded by Brigadier Satyapriya Liyanage, is marching towards Mullaitivu along the A-9 road. On Sunday, December 14, the 20th Sinha regiment and the 16th Gajaba Regiments confronted the LTTE north of Olumadu in the Mullaitivu district. After severe clashes, they entered the Ampakamam village on December 15. From here, the distance to Iranamadu tank is just fewer than seven to eight kilometres. At the Mullaitivu theatre of operations, troops are advancing after the capture of Ampakamam village against heavy LTTE resistance. The Army was supported by heavy artillery and mortars.

On 15th 59 troops cutoff vital road stretch: Skirmishes in southern fringes of Mullaittivu

The advancing 59 Division troops who are now making effective inroads towards the LTTE’s eastern coastal garrison township, have reportedly taken control over a 3km vital road stretch along the Oddusudan-Mullaittivu (A-34) road following intense battles with LTTE terrorists .

The road stretch located southwest of Mulliyaweli village is now under military domination, as ground troops said that the blockade would deny LTTE the use of the vital supply route connecting its eastern coastal township.

According to battlefield reports, the 59 Division troops led by Brigadier Nandana Udawatte is fiercely engaging LTTE resistance as fresh fighting has shifted towards the southern outskirts of Mullaittivu. Defence observers, are also of the view that troops would make their presence felt at Mulliyaweli village , which LTTE continues to operate as a main terror strongpoint, soon.

Meanwhile, the 59 Division Commander Brigadier Nandana Udawatte divided his troops into three groups to operate on three fronts. One formation is proceeding along the coastal line, another towards Nedunkerni while yet another is advancing from in between these two. The 59 Division liberated the entire Nayaru lagoon area in Mullaitivu. This lagoon area is where the Sea Tigers conduct their exercises.

Somewhere in 2006 , Sea Tiger leader Soosai was injured during such an exercise in this area, while his son was killed.

On the coastal line, troops of 59 Division have passed Kumulamunai. Before reaching Kumulamunai they had to pass a wide forest area in Andankulam. In the history of the Eelam War the Sri Lanka Army had never ever cleared this jungle area in Andankulam – also known as the thickest jungle area in Sri Lanka. Even though the Army had reached and passed Kumulamunai area, even on Monday, December 15, there was some LTTE resistance in the area. This, in other words, means counter-attacks. The Army was able to overcome this counter-attack too. Passing Kumulamunai, there is another strip of forest area, from where it is around eight kilometres to the centre of Mullaitivu township. In their march towards Mullaitivu troops will have to confront yet another thick jungle area at Mulliyawalai. A senior Army officer said, “Our soldiers are very comfortable while fighting in jungle areas because soldiers trained for jungle warfare.”

The Task Force 3 is heading towards Mullaitivu the same way that the 59 Division too is heading there. The Sri Lanka Army is sure to dominate the eastern coastal line the way they did the western coastal line.

Heavy rains, earth bunds, no deterrent to Forces’ committment
Although it is the rainy season, the officers and soldiers at the front are committed to achieve their objectives. The present concept of the Security Forces is to kill as many LTTE cadres as possible while wounding as many. Presently at the Kilinochchi theatre of operations, the LTTE has built a massive earth bund, very similar to the bund at Akkrayankulam, around the Kilinochchi town outskirts, Adampan and along the Pooneryn-Paranthan road. As I had mentioned earlier in my columns, the Pooneryn-Paranthan B-69 road falls onto a junction, with one road leading northwards to the Jaffna Peninsula through Elephant Pass which is only nine kilometres, eastwards provides access to Mullaitivu and to the south providing access to Kilinochchi town, which is only five kilometres away.

For the Army’s 58 Division, under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva, the main obstacle between the junction and their advance is the earth bunds. But when this same 58 Division liberated the Mannar district, they had to encounter such earth bunds all over the area. Yet, they surmounted these obstacles. On Monday, December 15, the Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets mounted several airstrikes on these bunds west of Kilinochchi. According to observations, severe damages had been caused to these earth bunds. Putting up earth bunds was the concept of the LTTE’s Jaffna area commander Theepan. According to reports, Theepan is now in overall command and is reporting directly to Velupillai Prabhakaran.

When the Security Forces capture Paranthan junction, they will automatically cut off the LTTE’s supply routes to certain sections of Muhamalai, Kilali and Nagarkovil. So, it is pretty certain that before the 58 Division overcomes the earth bunds obstacles, the LTTE will withdraw due to supplies running short. But the outfit is sure to tell the world that this too is another of their ‘tactical withdrawals’. Even right now, Tiger cadres in the area are manufacturing anti-tank mines, land mines and booby traps. By the time they withdraw, they will set these up, in similar ways that the Vietcong did to the US troops in Vietnam. A confident Sri Lanka Army senior officer stated categorically that all these years, while the LTTE withdrew, they had planted such mines and booby traps, but that our brave soldiers have competently managed to defuse and clear them.

Troops advance further
Meanwhile, the 57 Division is consolidating its positions in Adampan, west of Kilinochchi as well as the Murikandi areas. From the south the 574 Brigade is gradually advancing while facing similar earth bunds. They will overcome the 15 to 20 feet high earth bunds and march on to Kilinochchi. “Surmounting these bunds is not that difficult. But the weather conditions have made it a bit more difficult,” said a senior officer at the front.

LTTE shifted its administrative and command centers to Puthukudyiruppu west

Due to the way the troops are advancing towards Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, the LTTE has now shifted its administrative and command centres to Puthukudyiruppu west and Puliyanpokkani west of Kilinochchi, according to reliable sources. Civilians are said to be denied access to these areas right now, while even some Tigers cadres too are being denied access.

Tigers pushed into a corner
“The LTTE is fighting a battle for survival”, said a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. Why a battle for survival? They call this Eelam War IV. But this time round, the LTTE has been unable to hold against or overrun a single advancing Army detachment. The Tigers have lost the entire west of the A-9 road. The way the security forces are operating, the Tigers will similarly lose the west of the A-9 road in the Mullaitivu district as well. According to the military, the Tigers’ two-way-downwards supervision has broken down.

The advancing troops could not be stopped by the LTTE. The only way it could at least slow down the progress is by building earth bunds. But it has proved ineffective in the Mannar area, and it will prove to be ineffective in Paranthan and west of Kilinochchi too.

The Sri Lanka Army is pushing the Tigers into a corner. When a person or animal is cornered and totally helpless, it will either give up or do something desperate.

When the LTTE is cornered, there is a possibility of the outfit resorting to some sort of chemical weapons, similar to the CS4 gas it had used earlier. But a high ranking officer from the battlefront said the troops were even ready to face such a threat.

Meanwhile, civilians escaping the grips of the LTTE have told the security forces that they wanted to enter government-controlled areas, but that the Tigers were preventing them. They say that the LTTE was using the civilians as a human shield, while at the same time they were being forced to dig trenches and do other manual work. This fact has been highlighted in these columns time and again. But on December 15, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has suddenly opened its eyes and said that the LTTE was resorting to various sorts of abuse of civilians under its control. The civilians have told the security forces that some LTTE cadres too are of the opinion that they cannot win this war.

Prabhakaran has already issued instructions that anyone trying to flee or surrender would be shot on the head and killed. This has already happened on three occasions at Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, according to reliable reports. This has frightened the LTTE cadres who want to surrender, it seems.

However , three female cadres and three male cadres surrendered at Mannar and three more at Pooneryn. Likewise, the security forces expect many more cadres to surrender in the very near future.

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