Defence Column

Tigers revert to jungle tactics as Forces’ thrust continues

LTTE leaders restrict movements, communications fearing more attacks by Forces :

RANIL WIJAYAPALA

The situation in the country was tense during the past few weeks with incidents unfolding in many areas. The incidents in Thanamalwila and Buttala in the Moneragala district created a fear psychosis among the common masses and uncertainty about security in the South.

That was expected by the LTTE at this decisive moment. Through these bloodthirsty acts the LTTE wanted to saw seeds of suspicion among the public about the military strategies to defeat terrorism and about their own security to achieve the desired results taking advantage of the tense situation in the country.

That was why the Tiger cadres are running amok to quench their thirst for blood in every part of the country. But they are unaware of the fact that they have now become ‘Tigers’ in the true sense of the word as they have reverted to their primary level of operations carried out in 1980’s and early 1990’s taking the cover of the jungle.

By resorting to these acts, the LTTE has wittingly or unwittingly accepted the fact that they can no longer continue as a conventional force like the Security Forces in the country since all their military bases are no longer operating at full capacity as they have been exposed to the Security Forces.

In reality they have accepted defeat even at present and they are only engaged in life saving tactics by resorting to these primary level terror operations taking cover of the thick jungles in the South and butchering unarmed civilians cultivating their chenas inside the jungles.

The Security Forces have noticed that the LTTE no longer engages in face to face attacks in any front either in Jaffna or Wanni. Even in the Wanni battle front, the LTTE is trying their best to hinder the advance of the troops into their territory by laying minefields and booby traps.

Troops are facing no major resistance from the Tiger cadres manning the forward defences, despite indirect fire and trappings.

It was evident during the surprise attack on Muhamalai and Kilaly LTTE fronts by the 53rd Division and 55th Division on January 21 that Tiger cadres can no longer face the Security Forces directly. They heavily depend on indirect fire and trappings to slow down the advance of the troops into their territory.

During this surprise operation the troops were able to destroy 27 bunkers of the LTTE killing 15 Tiger cadres and injuring 30 of them. Troops engaged in this operation returned to their original defences after inflicting heavy damage to the LTTE.

The troops now fully dominate the entire no man’s land between the Security Forces defences and the LTTE front. The continuous attack on Tiger defences has made them more miserable in their effort of defending territory.

The situation in the Wanni also remains the same with troops speedily advancing towards Tiger territory, killing Tigers in larger numbers. The troops have now taken the upper hand in both fronts - Mannar and Vavuniya.

Task Force -I or the 58 Division under the command of Brigadier Shavindra de Silva is now heading towards Vedithalthivu in the North of Mannar on three fronts.

Task Force -I achieved many successes within the past one month killing at least 780 Tiger cadres and injuring 151. The troops have got confirmation through the intercepted radio transmissions of the LTTE as they have declared the names of 598 cadres by their name. They have also mentioned 441 Tiger cadres who had sustained injuries during these battles.

The largest hits have been taken within the first 22 days of 2008 with the killing of 188 cadres and injuring 65. The figure is much higher according to intercepted radio communications of the LTTE as they have declared 206 names of the dead cadres and 64 names of injured cadres.

The 581 Brigade under the Command of Colonel Sujeewa on Wednesday took 1.5 Kilometres North West of Giant Tank. They are now operating 1.3 Kilometres East of Adampan taking control over Uyilankulam -Anathankulam after advancing into Tiger territory through the Uyilankulam road block.

The 582 Brigade under the command of Colonel Heshan Silva has also advanced towards the general area of Adampan from west to east direction capturing Manthai, Narikulam, Chettukuli and Vannakkuli and they are now operating just one kilometre away from Adampan junction.

Meanwhile, the 583 Brigade under the command of Suraj Wanshajayah has also moved towards Adampan from the Uyilankulam Cross Loading point through Neelachchenai and Palakkuli. They are now in full control in Palakkuli, one kilometre west of Adampan road. Task Force -1 which was later turned into the 58th Division commenced operations on September 22. At the initial stage it carried out a strategy to attract more Tiger cadres towards them and cut off their supplies.

The 58th Division made speedy moves within this month. Since 95 per cent of the land mass in the Mannar sector is in open terrain they have to confine their operations to night hours. This situation affects the LTTE too.

But the prevailing situation in Mannar is not in favour of the LTTE as a large number of their cadres have perished in the recent battles leaving only female cadres to man their bunkers. According to Security Forces in Mannar 65 per cent of the Tiger cadres manning bunkers are females. The plight of these female cadres is pathetic as they have not been provided with any facility after being dropped there by senior cadres.

A letter found from a female cadre killed inside a bunker very clearly described the plight of these female cadres as she had written her letter to her family members in utter desperation.

She had repented joining the LTTE and mentioned that she had faced everything during her life time after joining the organisation.

She has also mentioned that they had to depend on biscuit packets issued to them when they were dumped into these bunkers. Therefore, they are left with no option other than facing death at the hands of advancing troops.

The plight of the Tiger cadres operating in the Vavuniya sector too is similar to that of the situation in the Mannar sector. The troops attached to the 57th Offensive Division are also making speedy moves towards the northward direction capturing strategic locations in Vavuniya/Kilinochchi border.

In some areas the troops have passed the Kilinochchi administrative district border demarcating Vavuniya and Kilinochchi districts. The troops advancing on the Madhu road are now operating just three kilometres away from the Madhu area after consolidating their positions in the Thampanai and Periyathampanai villages.

Therefore, troops are poised to take full control of Madhu within the next three to four days as they are making a speedy advance towards Kilinochchi.

The months long drive had brought them success as they could the inflict maximum damage to the LTTE within this period making their march easy towards Kilinochchi.

Though some do not believe the figures issued by the Security Forces regarding the number of cadres, ground troops have clear proof as the LTTE itself admits the fact that more than 1,000 cadres have perished during confrontations in the Vavuniya sector.

According to Security Forces the figure exceeded the 2,000 mark by the end of last year.

It is evident that the LTTE is not in a position to even collect the bodies of the dead cadres to give them a decent burial.

During the past few weeks the troops faced a very bad situation in Thampanai area as stray dogs used to devour the bodies left by the Tiger cadres in the area.

Therefore, the situation has turned out to be a very bad one for the LTTE leadership too as they are facing severe difficulties at the hands of the Security Forces. Things will be much difficult for them once the 59th Division is made fully operational in the Weli Oya sector.

It was in this backdrop the LTTE launched a number of desperate claymore attacks in Colombo and also engaged in violent activities in the South specially in a district like Moneragala, targeting innocent farmers engaged in Chena cultivations.

It was firmly believed that the LTTE has reverted to this tactic as it was the only option available to them to prevent the deployment of troops fully for the task of liberating Wanni from the clutches of the LTTE.

The deployment of a large number of troops to nab a handful number of Tiger cadres hiding inside thick jungles in Moneragala would definitely have an impact on the operational plans of the Security Forces to achieve their objective as soon as possible as stipulated by the Security Forces Chiefs with the dawn of this year.

Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka yesterday too visited the Yala area to observe the progress achieved by ground troops in tracking the Tiger cadres hiding inside the jungle patches of Moneragala district and also in Yala sector.

The troops have intensified their operations to nab these Tiger cadres as the impact they can create is comparatively big compared to what they can do in the North East.

The LTTE will continue with such threats in the future too in other parts of the country when the Security Forces and the public are paying attention towards the South. Therefore, constant vigilance will be an essential factor in their day today activities to guarantee a secure environment in the country.

Therefore, patience and vigilance of the public would play a pivotal role national security with Security Forces successfully marching towards the strongholds of the LTTE in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu from multiple fronts, surprising the Tiger leadership.

The LTTE leaders once again were caught by surprise on Wednesday as SLAF fighter jets took a target which was believed to be a location frequently visited by Tiger leader V. Prabhakaran especially after reports that he had sustained injuries in an air raid carried out by the LTTE in November last year.

The X-ray base which is believed to be a location at which the LTTE runs a small hospital to treat injured Tiger leaders has been frequently visited by the Tiger leader for treatments.

The SLAF fighter jets with receipt of intelligence reports bombed the location which contains a couple of underground bunkers at 11.15 a.m. on Wednesday.

The SLAF pilots observed that the target was hit with 100 per cent accuracy though there was no feedback from the LTTE except for a denial of such an incident by LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan.

However, intelligence reports also indicated that though the Tiger leader had not sustained any injuries something serious had happened after the bombing of the location which was unknown even to lower ranking Tiger cadres.

According to intelligence reports a convoy of vehicles had arrived there on Tuesday night but there was no confirmation whether it was Prabhakaran or any other senior leader. These circumstances have compelled the Tiger leaders to confine their communications and also movements inside the Wanni.

With these developments it is inevitable for the LTTE to face a do or die battle to protect their territory or to denounce violence and enter the path of democracy in line with other Tamil political parties at a time the Government making fresh initiatives to implement a political solution to address the national question.