Sri Lanka Armed Forces have reached the final stage of their counter terrorist operation fought against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for more than two and half decades . The mission of our armed forces is to free our nation from clutches of terrorism and to make it a country where all Sri Lankans can live in peace and harmony.
The ongoing phase of the battle commenced in August 2006 when terrorists closed down the Mavil Aru sluice gates denying water for more than 30,000 civilians. The terrorists initially had their domination over an area of 15000 square kilometers in the Northern and the Eastern Provinces. The LTTE terrorism was eradicated from the Eastern Province by August 2007.
Land operations were commenced in the Northern Province in March 2007 with the induction of the Army's 57 Division to the Vavuniya area. The second offensive division Task Force 1 was inducted to the battlefield from Mannar in September 2007. Army opened its 3rd battlefront from Welioya with the induction of the 59 Division in January 2008.
At present, the army has engaged 5 offensive Divisions and 3 Task Forces at remaining LTTE hiding areas in Wanni. LTTE terrorists are boxed in to a triangular shape land marked by A-9 road from the West, A-34 road from South and the Northeastern coast from the East. However, this area has been reduced to 562 square kilometers as the Army offensive divisions have already dominated this land mass on several frontiers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Troops Capture Another LTTE Camp in Puthukudirippu
ReplyDeleteWANNI: TROOPS continued their attacks on LTTE positions in UDAYARKATTUKULAM and PUTHUKUDIRIPPU areas on Friday (23) causing heavy damages to the LTTE terrorists. They also captured an LTTE camp complex consisting of twelve buildings, one monument, a toilet block, a cook house, a water container and a pump house in PUTHUKUDIRIPPU area.
During a search conducted in the captured camp the troops recovered three water tank foils, two barrels with two hundred ten liter capacity each, one barrel containing two hundred forty liters of petrol, two five liter 4T oil canes, two barrels of two hundred and ten liter capacity each containing kerosene oil and two canes of five liter capacity containing 2T oil from it. They also recovered one LTTE dead body with a T-56 weapon from PUTHUKUDIRIPPU.
In another search operation troops recovered three T-56 weapons and two LTTE dead bodies from UDAYARKATTUKULAM area on the same day.
In the meantime, in search operations in MANKULAM and VISUAMADU areas troops recovered eighty five anti personnel mines and twenty eight hand grenades during day time on Friday (23). In another search operation in KANAKARAYANKULAM area troops recovered one claymore mine weighing about 10 kgs, 5m detonator code, 6 kg of explosives and eight thousand and nineteen rounds of T-56 ammunition on the same day.
Troops also found a stranded civilian in PULIYANPOKKURAI area on the same day morning and handed over to the Police.
Some More Civilians Arrive in Army Control Areas
VAVUNIYA & MULLAITTIVU: A GROUP of thirty seven civilians belonging to nine families consisting of eighteen men and seventeen women who escaped from the grip of Tiger terrorists reach the government control area in OMANTHE on Friday (23) evening.
Another group of nineteen civilians reached army controlled area in DHARMAPURAM on the same day.
All civilians were sent to IDP centers after preliminary inquiries.
Terrorists Damaged Kalamadukulam Tankbund
MULLAITTIVU: LTTE terrorists who are beaten up by the Armed Forces in every battle and cornered to a small part in MULLAITTIVU area are now doing everything to stop the advance of the Army further deep into MULLAITTIVU. In such an attempt on Saturday (24) afternoon, the terrorists blasted the KALMADUKULAM tank bund in VISUAMADU area.
As a result of this terrorist act of the LTTE a section of PARANTHAN-POONERYNE A-35 main road was flooded causing severe hardships to the civilian forcefully kept by the terrorists in the area.
In the meantime, small groups of terrorists onboard five small boats to on abortive attempt to infiltrate the area held by 574 brigade troops along the flooded cannels. However troops opened fire and completely destroyed three of the boats and partially damaged the other two.
It is believed that many terrorists were killed in the incident. Remaining Tigers had managed to escape. Search operation in the area were commenced search operation in the area were commenced by the troops.
Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi says not to allow the LTTE to use civilians as a human shield
ReplyDeleteSat, 2009-01-24 07:34
Colombo, 24 January, (Asiantribune.com): Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Representative of the Government of Japan for Peace Building, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka, currently on an official visit to Sri Lanka, met with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Thursday at the Foreign Ministry.
Briefing the visiting envoy on the situation in Sri Lanka, Minister Bogollagama observed that the humanitarian operations were being conducted by the Sri Lankan government in northern Sri Lanka with the objective of eliminating LTTE terror and restoring democracy in order to achieve a sustainable peace.
Minister Bogollagama referred to the process of democratization launched by the Sri Lanka government in the Eastern Province with the holding of elections. He noted that this has enabled the government to make democracy meaningful to the people in the Eastern Province. He highlighted the necessary to strengthen democratic Institutions as democracy, peace and development go hand in hand.
Stating that the Government has demarcated a safe area for the civilians to move in, it was brought to Ambassador Akashi’s notice that a large number of people were waiting to leave the LTTE-dominated areas in the North. The Minister observed that leaflets have been dropped into the uncleared areas giving this information to civilians to facilitate their movement to liberated areas. He added that a convoy carrying food and essential items has also been moved into the area.
Special Envoy Akashi expressed his satisfaction at the efforts undertaken by the Sri Lanka Government to safeguard the civilian population in the north. He expressed his confidence in the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) as a viable mechanism through which to bring about devolution of power and to build a pluralistic Sri Lankan society. He stated that Japan was fully conscious of the Sri Lanka government’s commitment to finding a political solution to the conflict, and expressed the hope that the political process would continue.
Referring to the concerns expressed by the international community, Ambassador Akashi emphasized that the LTTE should not be allowed to use civilians as a human shield.
He also stated that he looked forward to observing first hand the situation of the internally displaced person during his stay in Sri Lanka.
The Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka H.E. Kiyoshi Araki and officials of the Japanese Foreign Ministry accompanied the Special Envoy to the meeting, Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona, and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry were also associated with the meeting.
- Asian Tribune -
"Truth" was the causality in the Navy’s recent encounter with Sea Tigers off the coast of Mullaitivu
ReplyDeleteSat, 2009-01-24 06:43
By Ruwan Weerakoon in Colombo
Colombo, 24 January, (Asiantribune.com): In the recent encounter with the Sea Tigers off the coast of Mullaitivu, it is now alleged that the biggest causality was the "Truth", and Sri Lanka Navy failed to disclose the true scenario of that tragic episode.
Sri Lanka Navy in that sea battle with Sea Tigers on Tuesday 20th January, the Navy has in fact lost 19 sailors on that day.
It was reported by the Sri Lanka Navy that the Sea Tigers attacked a convoy of Sri Lanka Navy off the coast of Mullaitivu sinking a Super Dvora Fast Attack Craft on Monday, 20th January around 11:30 p.m.
But Sri Lanka Navy said its naval craft thwarted an attempt by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to get away from the besieged district. One SLN FAC sustained damages due to an explosion of an LTTE suicide boat close by, the Navy spokesman also said.
It is now reliably learnt that the said Fast Attack Craft was sunk and later the Navy deployed divers to salvage it. According to a naval source, the FAC had broken into three sections and the Navy divers had retrieved only some high caliber weapons from the craft.
Though there were 20 Naval personnel in the Dvora crew, but only one was rescued. What happened to other crew members?
The question now arises as to why the Sri Lanka Navy had not released the figures of the sailors missing in action and the names of those valiant sailors including the Officer in Command of the craft, Lieutenant commander N.G.C. Abeysinghe, who martyred in the service to the motherland.
It was further learnt that the Navy Headquarters has informed only to the next-of-kin of three crew members that their loved ones had gone missing in action.
Also, on January 20, the Navy Operations Room had informed the Sri Lanka Air Force that Navy boats had sighted an aircraft around 7.25 pm that had attempted to land in the Chalai area. They had further said that Navy craft had directed fire at the aircraft.
But when contacted the Katunayake Air Traffic Control Tower, an officer who did not want to be identified said that he was on duty at that time and their radar had not picked up any flight signals in the region at the time.
In the meantime, Sri Lanka Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said on that particular day and time, no foreign aircraft had entered or strayed into Sri Lankan airspace.
Furthermore, the Sri Lanka Army Northern Command said its soldiers too had neither sighted nor heard any sound of any aircraft.
It has further come to light that an officer from Navy Headquarters had called the media and released the news of the boats firing at an aircraft.
When journalists had tried to verify it, they had realized that the story was false or fabricated.
TULF tells Karunanidhi:
ReplyDeleteCall to end war unjustifiable
by Our political correspondent
Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader, Veerasingam Anandasangari has pointed out to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanithi that the demand of his State Government and the people of the State to stop the war against the LTTE and to go for a ceasefire, was an ill conceived and an unjustifiable one.
The TULF chief has written a letter to Karunanithi yesterday(24) in response to a decision taken by the Tamil Nadu State Assembly to put more pressure on the Central Government of India to insist on the Lankan Government to call for a ceasefire. The excerpts of the letter to TN chief by TULF leader follows:
“I come from the community affected by the ethnic conflict. I did not run away from my country.
The people who had suffered most during the final stages of the war in particular are the people of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
My concern for the people of Vanni most of whom were represented by me in Parliament for a long time is no less than anybody else’s. In fact it is more. I am frankly of the opinion and with great reluctance I say that the demand of the State Government and that of the people of Tamil Nadu to stop the war had been ill-conceived and unjustifiable.
The Government of Sri Lanka is fighting a group of ruthless terrorists who had, apart from many others, ruined the economy, education and culture of the Tamils.
Hardly anyone in Tamil Nadu know is that people of Vanni had been agitating for a long time for liberation from the LTTE.
If all the efforts taken by various sections of the people of Tamil Nadu had been jointly diverted towards peaceful and friendly approach for an early and reasonable solution, Tamil Nadu would have got the full backing of the Central Government and the Sri Lankans who have several links with India would have responded positively toward finding a reasonable solution, resulting in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka coming close to each other and becoming more friendly.
“I have quoted Gandhiji a number of times who had said during a visit to Ceylon before I was born. He said that “India and Sri Lanka cannot afford to quarrel”. “I say that it is more appropriate in relation to Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
Furthermore you are the one who very often refer to the “umbilical cord relationship” of the Tamils of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
I wonder whether you or anybody else in Tamil Nadu is aware of the “umbilical cord relationship” the Sinhalese have with the people of Madurai in Tamil Nadu and that Paththini worship (Kannagi) is very common among the Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka.”