Tiger base in east Sri Lanka falls
Army: Tiger base in east Sri Lanka falls
By KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 50 minutes ago COLOMBO, Sri Lanka
Government forces captured the last Tamil rebel base in Sri Lanka's volatile east on Wednesday, the army chief said, dealing a major blow to the two-decade fight for an independent homeland. The fall of Thoppigala gives the government control over the entire eastern province for the first time in nearly 14 years. The Tamil Tiger rebels still control parts of northern Sri Lanka, where they maintain a de facto state.
The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, who suffered decades of discrimination by majority Sinhalese-controlled governments. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
The war has escalated over the past 20 months, with assassinations, airstrikes and steady fighting killing more than 5,000 people, despite a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire.
Troops seized Thoppigala on Wednesday and were chasing fleeing insurgents, army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka told The Associated Press.
The military hailed the capture of Thoppigala as a major victory, and senior military officials on the ground said Monday they hoped to capture or kill the remaining rebels by the end of July, bringing all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time since 1994.
Rasiah Ilanthirayan, the rebels' military spokesman, said resistance in the east would not cease.
"We have changed our tactics and it is not surprising if they have entered the region. But whether they will be able to stay there peacefully is another question," Ilanthirayan said by telephone from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
He did not elaborate on the changed tactics.
Government and rebel forces have battled intensely for control of the Thoppigala base, hidden in a region of caves and crannies that made it ideal for guerrillas.
The rebels have been routed from their other eastern bases during heavy fighting over the last year.
Former Air Marshall Harry Goonetilleke called the seizure of Thoppigala an important success for the military, but said holding the region could be costly.
"You can win a battle with 2,000 troops but to hold it you need 10,000 minimum," he said.
The government is planning to recruit about 50,000 more troops, costing about $62 million per year in salaries alone, Goonetilleke said.
Goonetilleke said the government should now negotiate with the rebels rather than begin an all-out operation to capture northern guerrilla strongholds because a strike that would likely cause heavy civilian casualties and exacerbate a refugee crisis.
News of the military's latest victory came hours before peace-broker Norway's Ambassador Hans Brattskar was to meet top rebels in Kilinochchi to discuss the island's withered cease-fire.
Brattskar flew by government plane to Vavuniya, the last government-held town in the north before rebel territory, and would travel overland to the Tigers' headquarters, said Rajiva Wijesinha, a government official.
"I hope he will persuade their political leadership to return to the negotiating table," Wijesinha said.
In January, troops routed the rebels from their eastern coastal strongholds of Vaharai and Kathiraveli villages in the eastern Batticaloa district and in February launched operations to clear small rebel camps around Thoppigala.
Sri Lanka military gains control of last Tiger stronghold in EastWednesday, July 11, 2007, 9:06 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army troops and commandos reached Thoppigala, the nerve center of the LTTE Tigers in the morning hours of today and assumed full control, the military said.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said that few clearing operations are taking place. “The Army is in full control of the area and have captured all the major camps of the Tigers.
Small groups of Tigers have withdrawn to the jungle areas in west of Thoppigala where the clearing operations are going on,” Brigadier Samarasinghe said.
Meanwhile, troops have also gained the full control over Narakamula, and Tharavikulama areas where, the LTTE leadership had its' Eastern headquarters and other fortifications, the military said.
Thoppigala had been the last stronghold of the LTTE in the East. Sri Lanka Army, during their search and clear operations have found vehicles and equipment burnt by the fleeing terrorists which included two 120 mm mortar guns, one bowser, two double cabs, tractors with dry rations, motor cycles and cantor vans.
The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, who suffered decades of discrimination by majority Sinhalese-controlled governments. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
The war has escalated over the past 20 months, with assassinations, airstrikes and steady fighting killing more than 5,000 people, despite a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire.
Troops seized Thoppigala on Wednesday and were chasing fleeing insurgents, army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka told The Associated Press.
The military hailed the capture of Thoppigala as a major victory, and senior military officials on the ground said Monday they hoped to capture or kill the remaining rebels by the end of July, bringing all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time since 1994.
Rasiah Ilanthirayan, the rebels' military spokesman, said resistance in the east would not cease.
"We have changed our tactics and it is not surprising if they have entered the region. But whether they will be able to stay there peacefully is another question," Ilanthirayan said by telephone from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
He did not elaborate on the changed tactics.
Government and rebel forces have battled intensely for control of the Thoppigala base, hidden in a region of caves and crannies that made it ideal for guerrillas.
The rebels have been routed from their other eastern bases during heavy fighting over the last year.
Former Air Marshall Harry Goonetilleke called the seizure of Thoppigala an important success for the military, but said holding the region could be costly.
"You can win a battle with 2,000 troops but to hold it you need 10,000 minimum," he said.
The government is planning to recruit about 50,000 more troops, costing about $62 million per year in salaries alone, Goonetilleke said.
Goonetilleke said the government should now negotiate with the rebels rather than begin an all-out operation to capture northern guerrilla strongholds because a strike that would likely cause heavy civilian casualties and exacerbate a refugee crisis.
News of the military's latest victory came hours before peace-broker Norway's Ambassador Hans Brattskar was to meet top rebels in Kilinochchi to discuss the island's withered cease-fire.
Brattskar flew by government plane to Vavuniya, the last government-held town in the north before rebel territory, and would travel overland to the Tigers' headquarters, said Rajiva Wijesinha, a government official.
"I hope he will persuade their political leadership to return to the negotiating table," Wijesinha said.
In January, troops routed the rebels from their eastern coastal strongholds of Vaharai and Kathiraveli villages in the eastern Batticaloa district and in February launched operations to clear small rebel camps around Thoppigala.
Sri Lanka military gains control of last Tiger stronghold in EastWednesday, July 11, 2007, 9:06 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army troops and commandos reached Thoppigala, the nerve center of the LTTE Tigers in the morning hours of today and assumed full control, the military said.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said that few clearing operations are taking place. “The Army is in full control of the area and have captured all the major camps of the Tigers.
Small groups of Tigers have withdrawn to the jungle areas in west of Thoppigala where the clearing operations are going on,” Brigadier Samarasinghe said.
Meanwhile, troops have also gained the full control over Narakamula, and Tharavikulama areas where, the LTTE leadership had its' Eastern headquarters and other fortifications, the military said.
Thoppigala had been the last stronghold of the LTTE in the East. Sri Lanka Army, during their search and clear operations have found vehicles and equipment burnt by the fleeing terrorists which included two 120 mm mortar guns, one bowser, two double cabs, tractors with dry rations, motor cycles and cantor vans.
Sri Lanka claims capture of last Tamil Tiger base in east
by Amal Jayasinghe1 hour, 9 minutes ago
Sri Lanka's military claimed Wednesday it had captured the last Tamil Tiger stronghold in the island's east following months of fighting, as peace broker Norway tried to revive a tattered truce.
The military took control of the Thoppigala jungle base used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following intense air and ground attacks, the defence ministry said. It gave no details of casualties.
"With this victory, the troops have captured the nerve centre of the LTTE terrorists in their last stronghold in the eastern province," the ministry said in a statement.
"Dealing a major blow to the Tiger hierarchy in the east, those military operations bring all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time after 13 years," the army said in a separate statement.
No independent confirmation of the claim was immediately available, and there was no comment from the Tigers, who since 1972 have led a campaign for an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, mainly in the north and east.
"The victorious soldiers are presently clearing enemy 'pockets' scattered in the dense jungle and are pursuing the LTTE cadres who are on the run," the defence ministry said.
The army had compared Thoppigala -- situated next to the lagoon town of Batticaloa -- to the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan, as caves provided cover for the Tigers against air attacks.
In the same region on Wednesday, unidentified gunmen shot dead a Muslim man and wounded another at Valachchenai, while the military said it had killed or wounded five suspected Tiger rebels in the north of the tropical island.
The latest military claims came just one day after authorities said rebels were putting up stiff resistance and had slowed an advance on Thoppigala, with military and government spokesmen dismissing reports that it would soon fall.
Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said the objective of the security forces was to take full control over the multi-ethnic eastern province by neutralising the LTTE, not just to take over Thoppigala.
The Tigers had used the area as their main command and control centre in the coastal eastern province, where they lost at least two key bases earlier this year.
The military claim also came as peace broker Norway renewed efforts to meet with the Tigers in the north of the island in a bid to revive negotiations.
Norway's top envoy here, Hans Brattskar, was in the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi for talks Wednesday with the guerrilla leadership to discuss the fate of the Oslo-brokered peace process, diplomats said.
They said Brattskar's visit would also be a farewell call on the Tigers as he ends his tenure in Colombo.
Diplomats close to the peace process said his visit followed pressure on Colombo from its international financial backers to resume negotiations that broke down last October.
International donors have asked both the government and the Tamil Tigers to return to the negotiating table and salvage a 2002 truce that now only exists on paper.
Neither warring party has formally renounced the truce, and the government has insisted its military push in the east is a "defensive, humanitarian" operation.
Sri Lanka's 35-year-old conflict has claimed over 60,000 lives, and more than 5,000 people have been killed in fighting over the past 19 months, according to government figures.
The military took control of the Thoppigala jungle base used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following intense air and ground attacks, the defence ministry said. It gave no details of casualties.
"With this victory, the troops have captured the nerve centre of the LTTE terrorists in their last stronghold in the eastern province," the ministry said in a statement.
"Dealing a major blow to the Tiger hierarchy in the east, those military operations bring all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time after 13 years," the army said in a separate statement.
No independent confirmation of the claim was immediately available, and there was no comment from the Tigers, who since 1972 have led a campaign for an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, mainly in the north and east.
"The victorious soldiers are presently clearing enemy 'pockets' scattered in the dense jungle and are pursuing the LTTE cadres who are on the run," the defence ministry said.
The army had compared Thoppigala -- situated next to the lagoon town of Batticaloa -- to the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan, as caves provided cover for the Tigers against air attacks.
In the same region on Wednesday, unidentified gunmen shot dead a Muslim man and wounded another at Valachchenai, while the military said it had killed or wounded five suspected Tiger rebels in the north of the tropical island.
The latest military claims came just one day after authorities said rebels were putting up stiff resistance and had slowed an advance on Thoppigala, with military and government spokesmen dismissing reports that it would soon fall.
Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said the objective of the security forces was to take full control over the multi-ethnic eastern province by neutralising the LTTE, not just to take over Thoppigala.
The Tigers had used the area as their main command and control centre in the coastal eastern province, where they lost at least two key bases earlier this year.
The military claim also came as peace broker Norway renewed efforts to meet with the Tigers in the north of the island in a bid to revive negotiations.
Norway's top envoy here, Hans Brattskar, was in the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi for talks Wednesday with the guerrilla leadership to discuss the fate of the Oslo-brokered peace process, diplomats said.
They said Brattskar's visit would also be a farewell call on the Tigers as he ends his tenure in Colombo.
Diplomats close to the peace process said his visit followed pressure on Colombo from its international financial backers to resume negotiations that broke down last October.
International donors have asked both the government and the Tamil Tigers to return to the negotiating table and salvage a 2002 truce that now only exists on paper.
Neither warring party has formally renounced the truce, and the government has insisted its military push in the east is a "defensive, humanitarian" operation.
Sri Lanka's 35-year-old conflict has claimed over 60,000 lives, and more than 5,000 people have been killed in fighting over the past 19 months, according to government figures.
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