|
Army
tsunami hits LTTE heartland
A
tsunami of a new kind, an Army tsunami hit and devastated
Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass when 2009 began. Waves from
another tsumani, are on their way and getting closer to Jaffna
Muhamali Nagarkovil and Kilali, the last LTTE bastions in
Jaffna and Mullaitivu.
Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka said the Army will
end the LTTE menace within 2009. “The Tigers are highly
demoralised now and they are forcibly recruiting civilians
due to lack of cadres. Prabhakaran has challenged that the
capture of Kilinochchi was a dream of the government forces.
But we have made the dream come true. My officers and soldiers
are in high morale and are marching towards Mullaitivu and
remaining parts of Jaffna. We will eliminate the terrorists
soon,” he promised.
Troops will liberate entire Jaffna at any moment
The 58 Division advanced its offensive and were consolidating
their positions south of Elephant Pass by early 5th morning.
On Jan. 6, the 53 Division commanded by Brigadier Prasanna
Silva and the 55 Division commanded by Brigadier Kamal Gunarathne,
supported by the Mechanical Infantry Regiment and artillery,
launched their offensives. A high ranking military officer
said, “There is not much resistance from the LTTE at
the moment. It is due to their heavy casualties. Troops have
overrun the highly fortified LTTE’s second line of defence
at Muhamalai, during a swift incursion made, gaining 500m
odd ground territory from LTTE today. LTTE terrorists were
caught in total disarray following concentrated armour and
infantry assaults backed by heavy artillery attacks, which
left scores of terrorists killed and many others wounded,”.
At the time of writing this column on Tuesday, troops were
advancing towards enemy lines with support of superior heavy
fire power. An officer at the front said, “The Army will
be able to gain control of the entire Elephant Pass at any
moment. At any time now, we will be in control of the entire
Jaffna Peninsula.”
On Sunday (Jan. 4), while the media team was at Paranthan
junction, they saw armoured tanks heading in the direction
of Elephant Pass. Troops of 58 Division under Shavendra Silva
have been released to head towards Elephant Pass south from
Paranthan junction. When the armoured tanks reach Elephant
Pass, they will be able to direct heavy fire in all directions
and destroy LTTE positions for the troops to advance and consolidate
positions. Troops have already reached Kurinchativu and entered
Thamilamadam. When troops consolidate their positions south
of Elephant Pass, it will be a daunting task for the LTTE
to engage them directly.
Strategic advantage
The fall of Kurinchativu and Thamilamadam gives a strategic
advantage to the security Forces who are determined to flush
out the remaining terrorists from Elephant Pass, Kilali, Muhamalai
and Nagarkovil areas. The Tigers will be left without any
supply routes to the area, except from the Vettilaikerni area.
This route too will pose a problem for them to evacuate casualties
and to transport materials and cadres. Troops are consolidating
themselves at Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass.
Battle in detail: Liberation of Kilinochchi
The 57 Division, under the command of Brigadier Jagath Dias
and under instructions of Army Commander Lt. General Sarath
Fonseka, was ready to take over Kilinochchi town on December
31. Brigadier Dias had a brief discussion with his Deputy
General Officer Command Colonel Aruna Wanniarachchi and his
Brigade Commanders, Colonel Harendra Ranasinghe of 571 and
Lt. Colonel Dhammika Jayasundera of 572 and Lt. Colonel Senaka
Wijesuriya of 574. Due to obvious reasons, I cannot divulge
the names of the intelligence officers who feed the ground
and technical intelligence for offensive operations by the
ground troops, who were involved in this high-powered discussion.
Artillery officers too, attended this conference which was
to plan the capture of Kilinochchi. While this conference
was in progress, intelligence was received of LTTE positions
in Kilinochchi town.
Meanwhile, the 58 Division commanded by Brigadier Shavendra
Silva had provided information to 581 Brigade Commander Lt.
Colonel Sanjaya Wanigasinghe, who in turn coordinated with
his colleague Lt. Colonel Deshapriya Gunawardene. The 58 Division
was advancing towards Paranthan amidst heavy resistance from
the Tigers. And on New Year’s day, January 1, Brigadier
Shavendra Silva, General Officer Command, was able to offer
a gift to the nation: the capture of Paranthan town. Paranthan
is half a kilometre from Kilinochchi and two-and-a-half kilometres
from Elephant Pass. In the meantime, Brigadier Shavendra Silva
received orders from his superiors to march towards Kilinochchi.
58 Division troops were able to march towards Kilinochchi
amidst heavy resistance and gave very good flank support to
the 57 Division.
On New Year’s day, the 57 Division comprising the 571,
572 and 574 Brigades, was able to advance into Kilinochchi
town. 571 Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Harendra Ranasinghe
marching into Kilinochchi from the west encountered heavy
resistance which they overcame. Here they came across a cemetery
where over 3,000 LTTE carders were buried.
By then, they received fresh orders from the Army Commander,
who had said, “Do not withdraw. Continue the attack.”
Artillery, mortar and air attacks by the Sri Lanka Air force
followed non-stop. Meanwhile the 574 Brigade under Lt. Colonel
Senaka Wijesuriya advanced from Iranamadu junction into Kilinochchi
town. 572 Brigade under Lt. Colonel Dhammika Jayasundera too
advanced towards the town. While advancing, they were able
to intercept LTTE radio transmissions in the area. One of
these was a transmission between two senior LTTE leaders,
Velavan and Deepan. Vellavan who seemed right on the front
was telling Deepan, who was probably well behind, that it
was impossible to hold the Army advance. “We are getting
hammered from all sides. We don’t know from which side
the attacks are coming. They are coming from all sides,”
Velavan was heard saying. In reply to this, Deepan was urging
Velavan to hold the advance. After a while, Velavan’s
transmission was heard well behind the lines, urging the other
cadres to hold the military advance. This lasted awhile and
even without orders to retreat, the LTTE cadres fled.
Control
On January 2, 2009 morning troops continued their march and
the 571 Brigade gained control of the Kilinochchi railway
station area. And by afternoon the entire Kilinochchi town
was under Army control. Major General Jagath Dias said afterwards,
“My main target was to take over Kilinochchi town. This
was a team effort. Now we are after Prabhakaran. We can’t
leave the terrorist problem for the next generation. We have
to settle it now.”
While the battle for Kilinochchi was raging, the LTTE was
well prepared to evacuate its casualties by tractor towards
Kilinochchi east. Along the way, troops discovered fresh graves
even in the town where several dead cadres had been buried.
The Tigers had buried their dead even as the battle was raging
on the same day.
General Officer Command (GOC) of 57 Division Maj. Gen. Jagath
Dias in his press briefing said, “We are after Prabhakaran
and rest of the LTTE leadership. The morale of the officers
and soldiers is very high and they are committed to complete
their mission. Terrorism is the main problem in our country.
As Military officers, our prime duty is to eradicate terrorism
in our country. Therefore we committed to accomplishing our
task. Our victory is due to good leadership, training and
moral.
58 Division General Officer Command (GOC) Brigadier Shavendra
Silva in his press briefing said, “At the moment the
LTTE is running. They don’t have the strength to face
the Sri Lankan military Infantry and fire power as our target
is to kill the maximum of terrorists. We have done it in the
past and we will continue to do so in future.”
Army Commander appreciates Officers who command the battle
On January 3 morning, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka
took off to Vavuniya accompanied by high ranking officers
and also Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya who was in Colombo. Lt.
Gen. Sarath Fonseka was accompanied to the Security Forces
Headquarters in Vavuniya by Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, General
Officer Command. The Army Commander listened to the debriefing
by 58 Division Commander Shavendra Silva as well as 59 Division
Commander Nandana Udawatte. The Army Commander conveyed his
appreciation to the valiant soldiers for their dedication
Incidentally, January 3 was the 50th birthday of Maj. Gen.
Jagath Jayasuriya. The birthday boy was a happy man as both
Paranthan and Kilinochchi were now under his purview. A cake
was cut, with everybody singing “Happy birthday”
and offered to everyone.
Army Commander has announced that the Task Force I has been
elevated to the position of 58 Division from January 3,
Tamil Diaspora funds utilise only LTTE leadership’s comfort
. Subsequently, the Army arranged for a media tour of the
captured areas. When the media persons visited the area, we
could see lots of empty shells strewn all over, conveying
the message of how fierce the battles had been. Except for
four buildings, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO)
office, the LTTE command and control centre, the LTTE Peace
Secretariat and the administration buildings, there were no
other worthy of mention, apart from a hospital donated and
built by the Japanese Government. No other buildings had been
constructed by the LTTE. The media team saw the massive drinking
water tank in the middle of the town blasted by the fleeing
Tigers and lying on its side. The media people also did not
see evidence of any cultivation of lands in or around Kilinochchi,
which hardly showed any signs of having undergone any development.
In spite of all the billions of dollars pumped into LTTE coffers
by the Tamil Diaspora there were no signs of other construction,
infrastructure or development for the betterment of civil
society or their livelihoods.
Civilians hostage
There were some civilians who had come back. They said they
had come from Vadakachchi, east of Kilinochchi. At first reluctant,
they gradually began to talk through a translator. They clearly
stated that they had no faith in the LTTE anymore. One person
said he was an attendant at the hospital. He added that during
the four days from December 31 to January 3, there had been
around 25 to 30 LTTE casualties admitted to the hospital every
day. Some had been in critical condition, he said. He further
said that each day some 10 to 15 cadres died in battle front
and were buried them in Mulathivu. Their cadres were also
rapidly deserting the outfit daily. The hospital worker said
they had faith in the Army and that they believed they will
be treated fairly. Questioned further, he said that people
in Jaffna and Vakarai were now very happy and they too wanted
to be like that. “I believe that the LTTE will never
ever win”, he further said. “LTTE use civilians
as a human shield,” he added through the interpreter.
Battle in Mulathivu
Meanwhile, in Kumulamunai, in Mulathivu District, a pitched
battle erupted. During this battle the LTTE cadres were seen
to be demoralised as the fall of Paranthan and Kilinochchi
were severe blows to the entire outfit. Here, resistance was
very high for the 59 Division. But Brigade Commander Nandana
Udawatte urged his troops not to give up, but to move further,
that is towards the southern coastal line and west and north-west.
On January 4, the 59 Division’s 14 Vijayabahu Infantry
Regiment tactically infiltrated the LTTE built earth bund
south of Chillawatte. Troops of the 15 Ceylon Light Infantry
confronted LTTE cadres in the thick jungles north of Mullayaweli
and after the ensuing clashes they recovered 15 bodies of
LTTE cadres.
Mopping up
The 57 Division, Task force 3 and 4 have now opened up the
A-34 Mankulam-Mullaitivu road up to Thanniuttu. The Sri Lanka
Air Force is providing close air support as as Task force
4 completes mopping up operations. The bulk of the LTTE is
at Mullaitivu. Therefore the 59 Division’s Task force
2, 3 and 4 are operating in a south to north thrust of Mullaitivu
and the 57 division in a west to east direction. And with
the 58 Division heading towards Puthukudyiruppu, the LTTE
will be encircled by six formations.
No options
While the 58 Division is advancing towards Elephant Pass with
heavy fire power, the LTTE supply route is cut off from Paranthan
junction, leaving no options for the LTTE. The cadres have
already started withdrawing from their defences in and around
Elephant Pass, along the narrow land strip linking the Jaffna
peninsula with the mainland. According to intelligence reports,
the LTTE was preparing to vacate its defences in Eastern Mullaithivu
District including Mullaithivu, Oddusuddan and Vatraappalai
as the Task Force 4, Task Force 2 and 59 Division are advancing
from the south to north towards Mullaitivu and at the moment
certain LTTE supply routes are cutoff.
|
