Tigers admit losing key stronghold in Sri Lanka

Thu Jul 12, 2:39 AM ET


Tiger rebels have admitted losing a key stronghold in eastern Sri Lanka to government forces and said they would revert to guerrilla tactics in the troubled region.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters melted away from Thoppigala, a mountainous jungle area they dominated for over 13 years, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan told the BBC.
Tamil forces who remained in the east had gone into "guerrilla" mode, he said, adding that "winning the war was not about taking control of real estate."
Sri Lanka's government claimed Wednesday it had captured the "nerve centre" and last remaining Tamil Tiger stronghold in the eastern district of Batticaloa following months of intense combat.
The island's president, Mahinda Rajapakse, paid tribute to troops for the advance, which coincided with a fresh effort by peace broker Norway to pull Colombo and the ethnic Tamil rebels out of a worsening spiral of violence.
"I join the people in offering tribute and all good wishes to the members of the armed forces, police and the Special Task Force who... captured the last stronghold of the terrorists located at Thoppigala," the president said.
Senior military commanders maintained that they would focus on the rebels' mini-state in the north of the country after neutralising the Tigers in the east of the country.
Norwegian ambassador Hans Brattskar, who is to leave Sri Lanka shortly, returned from the northern Tiger bastion of Kilinochchi Wednesday after failing to clinch a deal on restarting peace talks, diplomats said.
The LTTE had previously said they will not resume discussions unless government forces halt their military campaign. Fighting across Sri Lanka has worsened since the breakdown of a 2002 truce around 19 months ago.
Sri Lanka's 35-year-old conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives, and over 5,000 people have been killed in fighting in the past 19 months, according to government figures.

THOPPIGALA CAPTURED
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http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=6565
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070711_03

Sri Lanka: Thoppigala and after
Thu, 2007-07-12 02:37 By Col R Hariharan (Retd.)

The Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence in a terse announcement said that the security forces had captured Baron's Cap (Thoppigala), the last stronghold of the LIberataion Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the east. This success was awaited for the last three months.
The fall of Kokkadicholai, approximately 14 km south of Batticaloa, on March 28, 2007 had kindled high public expectations of Thoppigala's capture any time soon. This was only to be expected as the security forces had almost ended the LTTE domination of highways A5 on the west and A27 on the southwest that provided depth to the Thoppigala base. But it had taken three months for nearly two brigade strong troops to gain control of Thoppigala, manned by 300 to 400 LTTE cadres. And that is one fourth of the total time taken for the mission of 'wresting control of east from the LTTE.' This was no surprise as the nature of terrain and the extensive booby trapping and mining had made progress of security forces slow.
Writing on the subject of consolidation in the east, on April 4, 2007 Sri Lanka: Looking beyond consolidation. I had cautioned about the ground the realities not matching the public expectations. I had said: “However, LTTE's resilience and innovation in insurgency warfare should not be under estimated. Thoppigala is unlikely to fall like a plum, ripe for plucking. The 300 plus LTTE cadres at Thoppigala cut off from resources and external support could fight it out of desperation. With their exit routes blocked they will be literally fighting with their back to the wall. Thus Security Forces deployed in operations in Thoppigala could be tied down for a longer time than anticipated. Even after Thoppigala is captured attacks by mobile LTTE bands can be expected to continue in this sector."
Fortunately for them, the security forces were not been taken in by public expectations in planning the operations. They appear to have conducted the operations focusing on three aspects:
Minimising own casualty, attrition of LTTE defenders and concentration of superior fire power and force. Though there must have been every political temptation to speed up the operation, the Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka appears to have maintained to his style of progressive consolidation of successes.
With this he has enabled the forces to minimise casualties, which is a great morale booster for future operations. The coordinated use of air force fighters and multi-barrel rockets appear to have been well thought of as they demoralise defenders even if they don't inflict huge casualties. This is likely to be a regular feature of operations in the future.
The LTTE on its part, despite the military setbacks in the east over the last one year and its ongoing feud with Karuna for even a longer period, appear to have been well prepared for the inevitable. This involved pulling out cadres from other areas as and when they became indefensible to fall back upon main defences.
Despite the loss of most of the artillery assets in earlier operations, it is significant that the LTTE had retained essential artillery fire power till the last days, abandoning cumbersome assets. Young LTTE deserters had reported LTTE's loss of morale in the face of casualties, food shortage etc. However, this does not appear to have affected the ability of the hardcore of fighters left behind to create and use integrated minefield defences to break the momentum of attacking troops to face the conventional troops intelligently.
LTTE appears to have pulled out essential cadres from its defences in a planned manner. If intelligence reports quoted in the media are correct, a group of 200 cadres led by Ramesh had sneaked out of Batticaloa area in the second week of June and travelled north across Welikanda, Serunuwara, Mutur and Manirasankulam in Kinniya using jungle tracks. This was probably the route adopted for thinning out. However, there are likely to be small groups left behind to carry out low level operations in the east.
Unfortunately, the capture of Thoppigala is not going to be the end game of LTTE in the east. Guerrilla operations are likely to be stepped up till they become expensive for LTTE to carry on the fight in the east. The LTTE's guerrilla operations likely to continue would include hit and run raids on government assets, Claymore attacks to disrupt free movement of troops particularly on road axes, and settling scores with Tamils including Karuna and company, who oppose LTTE. Any new development projects that could come up in Tamil areas could also be targeted. Thus in the coming months, the Tamil areas of east can expect a period of low level operations to continue. Encounters with escaping LTTE cadres like the one recently faced by the naval marines in Kuchaveli area, north of Trincomalee, are also likely.
However, LTTE actions in the east will be muted and restrained by the loss of control over resources and territory, if not the shortage of manpower. Thus to compensate such limitations in the east, LTTE could attempt some spectacular actions against more visible targets in Colombo. At the same time, the completion of security forces operations in the east, or at least restricting it to minimum levels, would probably release at least two brigades of troops for operations in the north. This can come in handy as and when operations in the north are joined in.
Operations in the north
In the north, the LTTE would be literally fighting with their back to the wall to defend the heartland of LTTE territory. If the defence of Thoppigagal is any indication of LTTE's fighting capabilities, the war in the north could drag on for at least two years, as assessed by both the Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka and the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. LTTE has probably stashed away adequate reserves of arms and ammunition over the years to fight out the mother of all operations as and when it comes. But their limitations will be exposed as the operation drags on. Thus time is going to be an essential but invisible resource for both sides.
Considering this the security forces planning operations in the north will have to rework the strategies. And they appear to be doing so. These would include preponderance of fire power, destruction of reserves and dumps, naval blockade to prevent seaborne supply routes of LTTE and intelligent use of Special Forces behind the lines.
The number of small encounters along the forward defended localities in Muhamalai, areas west and east of Vavuniya, and along the Omanthai-Mannar axis show the two sides jockeying for domination. For the time being, security forces that were bent upon pushing LTTE back along the Omanthai-Mannar axis appear to be recasting their plans in face of the strong resistance.
Use of Special Forces for operations to destabilise the LTTE behind the forward lines appear to have been resorted to with some effect. Similarly, LTTE appear to be using small armed groups infiltrated to cut down and curtail free movement of troops and carry out selective killings behind the forward lines in Jaffna.
Both sides are also using heavy mortars and artillery bombardments to keep the heads down in the defences. These are usually preliminary preparations for war that could seamlessly be joined in. So the 'cleansing of the east' as the security forces call it increases the chances of eruption of war in the north.
In this context, the seizure of two trucks last month lined with over one ton of explosives wired and ready behind their panels showed the high level of sophistication LTTE has achieved in carrying out terror attacks. The police seizure of the car of a Kilinochi government official in Colombo transporting explosives hidden in the petrol tank also shows LTTE's ingenuity and detailed planning in furthering its terror operations. Fortunately, these operations were neutralised with the seizure of the vehicles. But they have shown the LTTE's potential to conduct such operations remains undiminished. They are likely to carry out such attacks as and when the battlefield stresses get too much. This is going to put further pressure on the police to tighten security measures, particularly in carrying out search operations in cheap lodges and hotels in Colombo much to the discomfort of travelling public.
According to defence columnist Iqbal Athas, the two explosives laden truck operations were controlled and directed from Canada and the UK respectively as revealed in interrogations. This would indicate the LTTE's capability to control terrorist operations from the sanitized settings in Canada and the UK. This could be the red rag for the civil society in these countries to further tighten the screws on Tamil militants based in their soil.
The Sri Lanka Navy's success against a fleet of Sea Tiger boats in an encounter off Point Pedro in the north-eastern tip of Jaffna peninsula on June 19, 2007 has confirmed that the Sea Tigers continue to have major problems in reasserting themselves in the seas off the coastline from Point Pedro to Alampil in the south.
This will have a major bearing when large scale land operations in Mullaitivu and Thenmarachi come through. The large high-powered LTTE boat seized in the action was well armed and equipped with radar to take on air craft as well as naval targets. It underlined the naval capacity built by the Sea Tigers over the years in improving the weaponry, equipment and performance of boats.
The action off Point Pedro indicated Navy's ability to launch a well coordinated operation involving more than one command. At the same time, it is useful to remember that the Navy's success came barely a month after LTTE's successful sneak raid on naval posts in Delft Island in May. That would indicate that things are not so water tight on the Mannar coast. And that can make a big difference, unless India fully cooperates to keep its coast sanitized. In all probability, despite the exchange of political rhetoric, India has already taken action to do so.
So the blue print for a full scale war appears to be nearing completion. President Mahinda Rajapaksa also appears to have given the green signal for it when he said, "To bring about permanent peace to this country the government is dedicated to chase out the terrorists from the Northern Province soon, like they were chased out from the Eastern Province," while speaking at a function at Thambalagamam two days back. But a mixture of conventional and insurgency warfare is an explosive one and things do not go according to the blue print. So chasing out the terrorists from north could become a messy process as past history has shown, because the LTTE has nowhere to go.
The situation makes utter mockery of the Co-chairs' reported effort to resurrect the peace process after their closed door meeting at Oslo on June 25, 2007. The absence of any statement at the end of the meeting would indicate that it was not only peace process that was discussed. The hardening stand against local LTTE operators in the UK and Australia during the last couple of weeks would indicate they might have discussed tightening the thumbscrews on LTTE's local network in their countries. Or have they given a lead time to the government to come down heavily upon LTTE to 'soften up' its journey to the peace process? Only time will tell.
The tragic reality is that chances of peace are sinking in the horizon as weapons are cocked and bombs are primed. One cannot help feeling sorry for the ordinary people of Sri Lanka, particularly in the north and east and in Colombo, who are bearing the burden of war they are financing, at the cost of their lives.
More than devolution of powers, human rights violations, abductions, colonization and all other issues the most urgent issue now is the right of the citizen to live in peace –that is bringing back peace. And surprisingly the cause of peace appears to have very few takers because it has been going on for too long.
For the decision makers of war, it's a distant thing fought by soldiers. And success in war is a heady thing that tends to blur the larger picture. This is what has happened in Sri Lanka

Col. R Hariharan, an intelligence specialist on South Asia, is a retired Military Intelligence officer. He served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90.
- Asian Tribune -

FEATURE - Sri Lanka rebels bury 'martyrs', vow to fight on
Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:47 PM

KANAGAPURAM, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Tugging at a cyanide capsule hanging around his neck, Tamil Tiger fighter and doctor Vaman watches yet another slain comrade buried to the wails of relatives and the chorus of a rebel anthem.He says the deaths only make him stronger.
Standing in characteristic Tiger-striped fatigues which conceal a prosthetic leg -- his own was blown off by a landmine during fighting in the early 1990s -- Vaman says he is ready to die to further the rebel cause for an independent state.
His friend and colleague Lieutenant Colonel Tamil Vanan was one of three Tiger fighters killed a day earlier by a roadside bomb ambush inside rebel territory. The insurgents blame army troops using their own guerrilla tactics against them.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam say the three were part of a medical team conducting an anti-rabies clinic.
"These attacks by the Sri Lankan forces will not stop our duties," said Vaman, who is director of the rebels' Tamil Eelam Health Service. Tamil Eelam is the name the Tigers give to the homeland they seek to carve out in Sri Lanka's north and east.
Suspected Tigers have launched a spree of ambushes and bombings in recent months which have killed hundreds of people, most of them troops, after a 2002 ceasefire collapsed. Political analysts say Sri Lanka can expect more dead.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed since the war erupted in 1983, around 4,500 of those since last year alone, and the blood is still flowing.
"We are fighting for our country's young. We have been under oppression for the last five decades, so I will fight until my last breath," said 39-year-old Vaman, who says he joined the Tigers at 18 after watching troops beat minority ethnic Tamils in his native northern Jaffna peninsula.
The rebels wear cyanide capsules so they can bite into them and commit suicide to avoid capture.
SEA OF GRAVES
Wailing relatives collapse in front of open caskets at this 'martyrs' graveyard' near the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi.
"We put sand on our friend's grave, the blood they lost will get Tamil Eelam," goes the song played over loudspeakers.
Tiger fighters clutching Chinese-made assault rifles stand to attention. Others bow their heads in silence, behind them a sea of simple tombstones laid in neat rows where thousands of fellow 'martyrs' are buried.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has captured a vast chunk of territory the rebels controlled in the east, and have vowed to push on and capture the rebel-held north too.
But the Tigers are much stronger in the north and there is no clear winner on the horizon yet.
The international community is increasingly agitated with both sides for a rash of human rights abuses and killings -- and for ignoring calls to halt fighting that has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes.
Selvy Navaruban of the Tigers' humanitarian affairs wing joined the rebels in 1997 after watching hundreds of fellow Tamils displaced and killed by the conflict.
"I thought better to fight and die for our homeland than sit at home and die for nothing," she said, her hair in the traditional plaits worn by many female Tigers. "When one of our colleagues dies, they give us the strength to fight on."
Rajapaksa hails fall of Tiger base Colombo, July 11 (PTI): Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, today welcomed the fall of what he described the "last stronghold" of Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's east.
Rajapaksa also paid tribute to his securitry forces for the capture of the Thoppigala base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"I join the people in offering tribute and all good wishes to the members of the armed forces, police and the Special Task Force who... captured the last stronghold of the terrorists located at Thoppigala," he said in a statement.
The security forces today wrested control over Thoppigala base in the island's east after months of intense fighting, the defence ministry said earlier.
There was no immediate word from the Tigers who had maintained a stronghold in Thoppigala for 13 years. The hinduIn few days whole of East under govt control – DG MCNS Lakshman Hulugalle Wednesday, 11 July 2007 “Following the capture of the whole of Thoppigala, Government will issue a clear statement to mark the entire Eastern Province being taken under the State control,” the Director General of the Media Center for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle said.
“Security troops have entered the area Baron's Cap (Thoppigala); however it is not the only camp in whole of Thoppigala. There are few remaining areas left to be cleared which will lead to the full control of the Eastern Province,” Mr. Hulugalle added.
Mr. Hulugalle stated the above addressing a media briefing held at the Government Information Department premises today (11).
He added that the Security forces will be able to capture those few areas in few days.
Mr. Hulugalle added that Government has already stretched a vast development programme ‘Nagenahira Navodaya’ in par with the President’s ‘Jathika Saviya’ programme following the successful liberation of the LTTE controlled areas in the Eastern province.
Small member of LTTE cadres have withdrawn to the jungles in West of Thoppigala and troops are continuing to clear those area as well. Thoppigala is considered as the nerve centre of the LTTE in the East and it had been the last stronghold of the LTTE in the Eastern sector of the island. November elections in East is not possible– Lanka elections monitoring groupWed, 2007-07-11 16:57 By Joseph Thavaraja
Colombo, 11 July, (Asiantribune.com): Despite the military capturing LTTE headquarters and other rebel strongholds in the East, proposed elections in coming November in this region "is not plausible", a leading elections monitoring body in Sri Lanka said today.
Mr. Kingsley Rodrigo, Chairman of the independent elections monitoring group People's Action for Free and Fair Elections' (PAFFREL) speaking to the media said "There are 42 local government bodies including town councils in the region. But it is not possible to hold any elections in November."
Since 1988, no elections have been held in the East. There are practically no elected peoples' representatives.
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, the minister of Highways said in early July that the government "was hoping to announce the date for elections within three weeks."
President Mahinda Rajapakse also informed the government parliamentary group recently that Eastern Province has almost been cleared and it will only be a matter of time before the entire province was freed from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"There are four factors that prohibits the elections over there. Lack of a proper electoral register, lack of freedom to campaign due to threats, influx of IDPs and the presence of army camps" he said.
"The elections commissioner has to make a decision to go ahead..But even he has to receive official consent form the defence officials in the region. Therefore I am very doubtful" Mr. Rodrigo added.
- Asian Tribune

Tigers’ last Eastern bastion falls
றனில் and Rafik Jalaldeen

THOPPIGALA: Security Forces advancing to liberate the Thoppigala area from LTTE control dealt a mortal blow to the last line of Tiger resistance when it captured the outfit’s main headquarters base last morning releasing the grip on its Eastern stronghold.
The Security Forces are in a buoyant mood after capturing the nerve centre of the LTTE in Thoppigala which is its last stronghold in the East, Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said. “Troops captured the last remaining main LTTE base in Thoppigala,” he added.
Advancing commandos were supported by armoured battalions and engineering units backed by aerial cover from the Air Force.
The Security Forces are in full control over Narakamulla and Tharavikulama areas where the LTTE leadership had its Eastern headquarters and other installations.
“Troops have reached the main headquarters of the LTTE in Thoppigala and assumed full control,” Brigadier Samarasinghe told the Daily News.
“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 statement. “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.
“A small number of Tiger cadres facing imminent defeat at the hands of the soldiers are in hiding in the West of Thoppigala jungle while troops are continuing their humanitarian mission,” he added.
The Brigadier said soldiers were also conducting clearing operations in the captured areas of land mines and booby traps.
The Security Forces clearing the area recovered arms and vehicles left behind and burnt by the fleeing Tigers.
They included two 120 mm mortar guns, a bowser, two double cabs, five tractors with dry rations, five motorcycles and five Canter vans.
The Tigers had used the area as their main command and control headquarters in the Eastern province.
Capturing the East was not just a battle to gain control over land but a battle to restore humanity in the land which was engulfed by terrorism of the LTTE.
The heroic soldiers completed their mission in the Eastern theatre yesterday far ahead of the schedule by capturing the nerve centre of the Thoppigala jungle or the Baron’s Cap after taking the control of Narakamulla and Taravikulam Tiger camp complexes.
It ended the troops’ long journey braving all forms of terrorism and criticism to achieve their noble humanitarian mission commenced on July 26 last year from Mavil Aru to restore water supply for 30,000 people in the South of Trincomalee. They engaged in battles sans attractive titles and foiled each and every threat posed by the LTTE in their bid to clear the East from LTTE threats after liberating Mavil Aru sluice gates fully on October 31.
They bravely faced the LTTE terror attack on Kattaparichchan, Muttur, Toppur, Selvanagar and Mahindapura in the wee hours of August 2 last year and foiled their plans to crippling supplies to Jaffna peninsula by flushing out terror outfit from Sampur, Ilakanthair in subsequent operations carried out from August 27 to September 31 last year.
Then they moved to clear the threats in the areas surrounding the Trincomalee harbour in Gangai and Manirasakulam from October 1 to 6 and then moved to liberate 30,000 civilian population kept as a human shield by the LTTE in Vakarai and Kathirveli from October 30 January 21.
The operation carried out in West and South of Batticaloa from February 24 to April 12 was meant to liberate nearly 65,000 people living there.
Then the troops entered the final phase of the Eastern battles in May this year to flush out LTTE terrorism from the jungle hideouts in Thoppigala.
Army bags Thoppigala‘Battlefield gains won’t affect evolving political solution’The focus of the military is likely to shift from the East to the Wanni after the capture of Thoppigala while the government concentrates on reconstruction and resettlement in the newly captured areas.The Island lk*** photoThe Army media unit released this photograph of a soldier moving towards Thoppigala or Baron’s Cap seen in the distance just before the strategic LTTE fortress was captured yesterday. Inset: Troops hoisting the Lion flag and the regimental flag on top of Thoppigala after its capture

Thoppigala Captured
Tigers concede losing stronghold

By Sunil JayasiriSecurity forces who fought a hard battle for several weeks, captured yesterday the last remaining Tiger bastion in the East - Thoppigala - Military Spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said.
Soon after marching into the Tiger fortress, long considered impregnable, jubilant troops celebrated the event by hoisting the national flag, he said.
“Sri Lanka Army’s troops led by commandos reached Thoppigala or Baron’s Cap, the nerve centre of the LTTE in the East and took full control of Thoppigala yesterday morning,” he said.
However, he said a few LTTE cadres had withdrawn to the jungles west of Thoppigala and troops were conducting mopping up operations there now, Brigadier Samarasinghe said.
“Troops have overrun Narakamula and Tharavikulama where the LTTE leadership had its eastern headquarters and other fortifications,” he said.
The fall of Thoppigala marks the coming of the entire Eastern Province under the full writ of the Government, for the first time in 14 years.
Brigadier Samarasinghe said troops launched mopping operations in areas captured in and around south-west of Narakamulla while consolidating their positions.
Troops recovered two 120 mm heavy mortar guns left behind by the fleeing Tigers, but they had dismantled and damaged both of them before they fled, he said.
A large quantity of LTTE vehicles including two double cabs, five tractors fully loaded with dry rations, one bulldozer, five motorcycles, one anter lorry besides other equipment, which had been torched, were recovered by troops, he said.
Meanwhile, LTTE spokesman Rasiah Illanthirayan conceding that the Government forces had captured the Thoppigala base, warned that Government troops would not be allowed to hold it.
“We have made tactical withdrawals and it is not surprising that the troops have entered the area vacated by us. But whether they will be able to hold on to territory is another question,” Ilanthirayan told a news agency by telephone from Kilinochchi.
However he did not elaborate.
After capturing Mutur, Sampur and Vakarai area in February, troops commenced their final onslaught on the Tigers’ last stronghold.
The first phase was launched on February 24 by the troops backed by Air Force fighter jets which saw the capture of Kulukunawa, Shanthimale, Vavunativu, Kokkadicholai, Pillumale, Unnachchi and Eithyamale ensuring full security for the whole of the Mahaoya-Ampara A -27 road.
Under phase 11, launched on April 25, the military gained full control of the A-5 road between Mahaoya and Chenkalady and the other remaining Tiger bases including the popularly identified Beirut jungle base and the Tora Bora complex. These bases were mostly used by the Tigers for their training and logistical purposes.
The military claimed that at least 211 LTTE cadres were killed and many others injured during phase 11 of the military operations, in which 18 soldiers were killed and 68 injured.