கிளிநொச்சி சுற்றிவளைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது

Killinochchi under siege!


571,572 and 573 Brigades attached to the 57th Division and elite Special Forces are tactically moving towards Mallavi, Tunukkai and Mankulam. (I will not mention any battalion commanders’ names for very valid reasons).


572 Brigade captured Vannivilankulam, south of Mallavi and was moving towards Mankulam, Mallavi and further north. The LTTE tried its level best to hold Vannivilankulam, but failed. The Tigers are desperately trying to hold Mankulam, summoning additional cadres from the north to Mankulam to strengthen their defence lines with heavily fortified bunkers, trenches and ditches, protecting their bunkers, as well as setting up booby traps as they did at Vannivilankulam and Mannar but they failed. Up to date, the LTTE could not stop any advance from the four fronts (the 57th Division from Vavuniya north, Task Force 2 from the eastern flank of the A9 road, the 58th Division from north of Mannar and the 59th Division from Welioya towards Mullaitivu).


Troops of the 57th Division comprising battalions from the 3rd Gajaba regiment (3GR), 7th Ceylon Light Infantry (7CLI) and 8th Gajaba regiment (8GR) were involved in the operation in Vannivilankulam. The operation was launched by Maj. Gen. J Dias on Friday morning, by elite Special Forces teams which infiltrated the enemy lines in the afternoon and waited for their orders from their commanding officer. In pitch darkness, troops belonging to 3GR sneaked toward the Vannivilankulam tank. At the same time, troops belonging to 8GR and 7CLI advanced from the left of Vannivilankulam and cut off any exit and entry points. Troops in the vicinity of Vannivilankulam had given their artillery the exact target so that artillery fire was raining on Vannivilankulam, but at the same time, the LTTE retaliated with 120mm mortars. The entire area resounded with the noise of artillery and gunfire.

Troops moved towards LTTE territory attacking with T56 rifles and Multi Purpose Machine Guns (MPMGs) as well as Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). The LTTE cadres were trapped in Vannivilankulam the whole day and, by the evening, the battle was over and troops gained control of Vannivilankulam. At the end of the furious battle, the LTTE lost 30 cadres including eight senior LTTE leaders of the ‘Charles Anthony’ brigade, a report said. Meanwhile, seven soldiers and one officer were killed and 18 soldiers wounded.


The senior LTTE cadres killed during this fierce battle were identified as Pallavan, Ambumani, Selvakannan, Sellappu, Muhi, Illambu, Sudar and Jenathan who were at the commanding level of the ‘Charles Anthony’ brigade in the Mannar sector. The LTTE had given the self-styled rank of ‘Lieutenant Colonel’ to Pallavan and Ambumani, the report further added.


Troops reportedly recovered 23 T-56 rifles, one Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG), 14 radio sets, four RPG rounds, two hand grenades, 1.5 kg of explosives, six T-56 magazines, one 15 m long detonator cord, one motor cycle and several explosive items left behind by the dead and retreating cadres.


As was said before, in this Eelam 4 war, when the SL Army conducted its offensive on five fronts, the LTTE had to utilise its limited cadres on these fronts. This was not an experience the Tigers had before.


Mankulam is very important for the LTTE because the road from Mankulam junction leads to Killinochchi and Mullaitivu. The Tigers know very well if the SL Army captures Mankulam at any moment, a surprise attack on Killinochchi could be a possibility.


Killinochchi would then be under siege. To defend Vidalaitivu in Mannar district the LTTE had built earth bunds six to ten feet high as defence lines, with bunkers constructed of teak timber. It was a surprise to me to see how the SL Army overcame such giant defence lines and entered LTTE territory. On July 24 and 25, troops on the combined Mannar-Vavuniya front were gradually inching their way towards the road leading from Vellankulam to Mankulam and are now reportedly operating close to Mallavi after a series of confrontations causing sizable damage to the LTTE.


Meanwhile, troops of Task Force 2 operating on the eastern flank of the combined Mannar-Vavuniya front had several clashes with the terrorists in the Palamoddai and Navvi areas on Friday. In the Palamoddai area, troops confronted some Tigers around 11.45 a.m. and claimed one Tiger was killed and four others wounded. A soldier reportedly suffered injuries due to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploding in the same area around 10.10 a.m. When I asked a soldier involved in the operation about its progress he said ‘if there is a will there is a way.’ He said soldiers conducted night operations as well. This means the soldiers’ tour of duty comprises day as well as night operations. He further said ‘whenever we capture LTTE territory we have tremendous satisfaction which cannot be expressed in words.’


Troops operate in small groups waiting in ambush for hours for LTTE cadres.


A soldier wipes his sniper gun with a cloth and climbs a tree and sits in a small hut built in it. He closes his left eye and takes a look with his right eye through the binocular lens built into his sniper gun at the thick jungle ahead of the Welioya front. The soldier who is on the tree observes a group of Tigers but holds his fire, because his target is the leader of the group. He sees one LTTE cadre ordering the rest of the cadres and continually talking on a radio set. The soldier believes this cadre is the leader because of his movements. The soldier takes aim at the LTTE cadre but finds it difficult to get at his target because of the thick foliage. However, when he spots the leader in a vulnerable position he pulls the trigger on his sniper gun and the Tiger leader falls. In a few seconds, the rest of the cadres panic, while the soldiers in ambush open fire at the LTTE cadres, who retaliate.


The LTTE cadres, finding it difficult to face the heavy fire of the soldiers, withdraw with their dead and wounded. After this fire fight troops belonging to the 59th Division advance in thick jungle defusing Johnny mines and IEDs. At times the soldiers faced resistance and some got wounded but, they were able to advance and capture the Sugandan base, which is a satellite base of the One Four Base complex.
This entire base is well constructed with concrete and underground bunkers. “The Sri Lanka Army does not have Forward Defensive Lines (FDLs). At the moment, we are having Forward Offensive Lines (FOLs),” a senior officer told me, while I was on a tour of the battle front.


LTTE Wanni leader Banu had reportedly told his cadres, “Do not come back. If any of you come back all of you will be shot. I carry orders from the top. Your duty is to protect the Tamil homeland.” He had reportedly told the rest of the leaders who were on the front line, “All of you must hold the front line. Do not allow the SL Army to enter our territory.” He had reportedly given this order one day before the Army’s 57th Division captured Mallavi South. I have mentioned earlier in this column that, the SL Army is advancing towards Mallavi. Three LTTE cadres who surrendered to the troops had reportedly said very plainly they don’t get any basic needs to fight the battle and accused the LTTE leadership, adding that there are senior leaders who are not coming to the battle front but are giving commands from behind the battle lines. The ones who surrendered said they couldn’t go to see their loved ones for more than three months and, when they request to go on leave, they are asked to make their request to the area leaders.

The area leaders reportedly turn down their request, saying there are not enough cadres so you cannot be given leave. There is said to be much frustration among the cadres so they decided to surrender to the SL Army. In July alone the LTTE suffered severe reverses with the SL Army handing over nearly 40 bodies of Tiger cadres to the LTTE via ICRC and the LTTE losing territory. Mankulam junction, the LTTE supply route, will be seriously affected. In the coming battle, the LTTE will try its level best to defend its territory while the SL Army will try to capture Mankulam, Mallavi and Tunukkai in the near future. Apart from Operation Jayasikuru (operation victory assured), in Eelam wars one to three, the SL Army launched offensives in only one direction with the intention of grabbing a land area. When the LTTE sensed an offensive, the Tigers retaliated and withdrew to consolidate in another part of the North.


When Mankulam, Mallavi and Tunukkai falls into Army hands it would be a serious setback to the LTTE because from Mallavi and Tunukkai to Killinochchi there is only a distance of twenty to twenty five kilometres.