Prabhakaran and his Tigers last gasp

The funeral arrangements are ready. Only the final rites remain. And the Sri Lankan security forces (SF) are poised to carry that out too, to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
On Monday (20) after the expiry of the deadline for the LTTE to surrender, by the President, the final countdown is in progress.
Army searching for Prabhakaran
GOC 53 Division, Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunarathna, Task Force VIII Commander Col. G.V. Ravipriya and Officers from the Special Forces and Commandos planned on Monday (20) to attack the LTTE’s current strongest point at Vellamullivakkal, located within the ‘No Fire Zone’ (NFZ), east of the A-35 road. This location is well fortified by the LTTE. Military officials believe that top LTTE leaders, including Prabhakaran, are now in this area. By the time you read this paper, the battle would be at its peak, and the Army would be attacking LTTE strong points.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa personally oversaw the operations on Monday from the Air Force control room. Diplomats were also given the opportunity to view the situation from the same venue.

On April 20 morning east of Puthumathalan, an eight-man team of Commandos observed two double cabs approaching the SF’s defence line. The Commandos attacked the two cabs and killed the six Tiger cadres inside, which included its area leader Kavida.
“At the moment the LTTE doesn’t have any civilian support. Therefore they are isolated and don’t have sufficient manpower. But they still possess some heavy artillery guns.
Meanwhile, from the northern theatre near Chalai, some 5,000 civilians entered Government controlled areas and more are arriving today. Sources said that 62 LTTE cadres, 31 males and 31 females gave themselves up last evening, claiming that they were forcibly conscripted by the LTTE.
58 Division under Brig. Shavendra Silva, is consolidating its position for the final push to liberate the NFZ from the LTTE. On Monday (20) troops captured eight kilometres, with only nine kilometres remaining to be regained. Battlefront sources said that the LTTE had dug trenches and built earth bunds to obstruct the Army advance. The Special Forces and Commandos had infiltrated LTTE held areas in small teams and mounted attacks.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is providing vital support to the troops by providing UAV linked images to the offensive Divisions to monitor LTTE movement, while it’s MI 17s of No. 6 Helicopter Squadron, helps in evacuating Army casualties and provides troop reinforcements.
Operation civilian hostage liberation
Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, during his last visit to the North, met with the GOC 58 Division Brig. Shavendra Silva, Special Forces Brigade Commander Col. Athula Kodippili and Commando Brigade head Col. Ralph Nugera had left instructions for the launch of the world’s largest civilian hostage rescue mission, while maintaining ‘zero civilian casualties’ concept. This operation was coordinated with the SLAF and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). SF reached Puthumattalan beach splitting the NFZ into two; 58, 600 civilians reached Government areas, bringing the total to 131,000 since January.
Phoenix-like LRRP assets to the Nation
Meanwhile, the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), which was nearly decimated a few years ago, when the identities of its men were barred by a section of an overzealous media and politicians, and which rose from the ashes, like the proverbial Phoenix, had infiltrated the Government declared NFZ. LRRP members located and relayed back the exact locations of the LTTE strong-points, bunker lines etc. to the intelligence units.
Mission gets off the ground
On Sunday (19) evening, the designated Division and Brigade commanders planned the world’s largest ever hostage rescue mission. The plan was approved by the Army Chief.
Meanwhile, 58 Division under Lt. Col. Deshapriya Gunawardene, 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) under Lt. Col. Kithsiri Ekanayake, 9 Gemunu Watch (GW) under Lt. Col. Lal Chandrasiri and 8 GR under Lt Col. Chandana Wickramasinghe and their COs received their final briefings from their respective superiors.
Stealth, infiltration and attack
It was pitch dark and dead silent. The entire area was very still. The eight-man teams of the Special Forces proceeded North towards the LTTE-built earth bund at Puthumattalan and its main body moved in from the South. They sneaked over the five-foot earth bund, beyond which was a ditch. They crossed this as well. During the early hours of April 20, around 2:00 a.m., troops of the 58-1 Brigade and the SLII mounted a surprise attack on the LTTE’s vital positions and along its bunker lines. A simultaneous attack was launched by the other group of Special Forces and Commandos, who had infiltrated and moved to the rear of the LTTE positions. Another team of Special Forces and Commandos quickly set up ambushes to counter any LTTE reinforcements. As expected, a van and a tractor carrying reinforcements arrived. Special Forces and Commandos knocked them off on arrival. Thereafter, troops breached the last Tiger built earth bund hindering the advance of the SF and the civilians fled into Government controlled areas at Puthumattalan.
Civilian hostages released
As soon as the news of the breach reached the civilians, they began their hasty rush towards SF controlled areas, even as early as 5.30 to 6.00 am. In minutes the trickle became an exodus. The LTTE cadres fired some rounds at the fleeing civilians from a heavy gun positioned within the NFZ. Some Tiger cadres too started firing from their weapons, injuring or killing several civilians. These cadres were in civils. Troops could not return fire lest they hit civilians. The Special Forces and Commandos immediately moved among the civilians and hunted down the LTTE cadres and killed them. A desperate LTTE tried its utmost to stall the human exodus going away from its control, but its attempts proved futile.
President at SLAF Operations Room
By 10.00 am on Monday (20), Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka was briefing his Commander-in-Chief, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the on-going operations. Meanwhile, the SLAF’s UAVs and Beechcraft were relaying images to the SLAF Operations Room. Around 11.00 am, the SLAF Ops. Room had a rare visitor, when President Rajapaksa paid a surprise visit. SLAF commander Air Marshal Roshan Gunatilleke welcomed the President and accompanied him to the Ops. Room, where SLAF Director Operations Air Vice Marshal Kolitha Gunatilleke briefed them on the UAV images.
By around 11:30 a.m., an estimated 25,000 civilians had entered Government controlled territory from the NFZ. This influx made the President a happy man, and after spending some 40 minutes, he left SLAF Headquarters.
Tigers’ attempt to stop civilian influx
With civilians arriving into Government controlled areas in large numbers, the desperate LTTE dispatched two suicide bombers who exploded themselves among the civilians, killing 17, including women and children.
On the western flank on the seas off Chalai, there were civilians arriving by boats as well. The Sri Lanka Navy dispatched its boats to rescue around 1,500 of them who arrived in some 100 boats. Those who needed urgent medical attention were separated and taken on land, while the rest of the boats were escorted towards three locations at Point Pedro and Pulmoddai.
There were more than 5,000 civilians at Palamattalan, south of Chalai, attempting to enter Government controlled areas. But LTTE cadres were blocking them. 55 Division Commander Brig. Prasanna De Silva instructed his snipers to eliminate the Tiger cadres. As soon as the Army snipers shot down one of the LTTE cadres, the others opened fire indiscriminately at the civilians. But the emboldened and equally desperate civilians quickly overpowered the Tiger cadres and killed them with their own weapons. Thereafter, they crossed over to SF controlled areas.
Precautions against suicide attacks
Civilians entering Government controlled areas were thoroughly frisked for explosives and also to prevent any suicide cadres from entering the areas. Buses provided by the Transport Ministry ferried civilians to temporary camps and from there, after registration, taken to IDP centres in Vavuniya and elsewhere. Several schools in the area were closed to accommodate the large influx of people. Medical teams and necessary drugs were at the ready through the Health Ministry as well. The indiscriminate Tiger attacks had wounded many civilians and they were ferried to the Vavuniya Hospital by SLAF MI 17 helicopters. At the end of the day, over 50,000 civilians had arrived into Government controlled areas, making it the world’s largest civilian hostage rescue mission to date.
Preparing for the final act
From the south of the NFZ, the Commandos, Special Forces and 5 GW were marching towards the NFZ, along the A-35 road, hugging the edges of the Nanthikadal Lagoon. And while you are reading this column today, the LTTE’s ‘oxygen’ might have run out. But, before the rescue operation began, several NGOs and INGOs, certain Western countries attempted to provide the much needed ‘oxygen’ for the ailing patient.
The patient was the world’s ruthless terrorist organisation. Its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran’s fate may be sealed within a couple of days, if not already. If he has not escaped by sea, he should either surrender to the military or be killed by his own cadres.
All these day, the LTTE claimed it was the sole representative of the Tamil people. The pro-LTTE website TamilNet carried pictures, sometimes old ones, to spread propaganda that the Sri Lankan SF were attacking the civilians almost daily, thus misleading the international community. If the same Tamils held hostage within the NFZ by the outfit supposed to represent them, would they dare to come in their numbers into Army controlled areas? The civilians realised they were under the grip of a psychologically unbalanced person named Prabhakaran.