ARMY Tsunami HITS LTTE HEARTLAND

Army tsunami hits LTTE heartland

A tsunami of a new kind, an Army tsunami hit and devastated Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass when 2009 began. Waves from another tsumani, are on their way and getting closer to Jaffna Muhamali Nagarkovil and Kilali, the last LTTE bastions in Jaffna and Mullaitivu.
Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka said the Army will end the LTTE menace within 2009. “The Tigers are highly demoralised now and they are forcibly recruiting civilians due to lack of cadres. Prabhakaran has challenged that the capture of Kilinochchi was a dream of the government forces. But we have made the dream come true. My officers and soldiers are in high morale and are marching towards Mullaitivu and remaining parts of Jaffna. We will eliminate the terrorists soon,” he promised.
Troops will liberate entire Jaffna at any moment The 58 Division advanced its offensive and were consolidating their positions south of Elephant Pass by early 5th morning.
On Jan. 6, the 53 Division commanded by Brigadier Prasanna Silva and the 55 Division commanded by Brigadier Kamal Gunarathne, supported by the Mechanical Infantry Regiment and artillery, launched their offensives. A high ranking military officer said, “There is not much resistance from the LTTE at the moment. It is due to their heavy casualties. Troops have overrun the highly fortified LTTE’s second line of defence at Muhamalai, during a swift incursion made, gaining 500m odd ground territory from LTTE today. LTTE terrorists were caught in total disarray following concentrated armour and infantry assaults backed by heavy artillery attacks, which left scores of terrorists killed and many others wounded,”. 
At the time of writing this column on Tuesday, troops were advancing towards enemy lines with support of superior heavy fire power. An officer at the front said, “The Army will be able to gain control of the entire Elephant Pass at any moment. At any time now, we will be in control of the entire Jaffna Peninsula.”
On Sunday (Jan. 4), while the media team was at Paranthan junction, they saw armoured tanks heading in the direction of Elephant Pass. Troops of 58 Division under Shavendra Silva have been released to head towards Elephant Pass south from Paranthan junction. When the armoured tanks reach Elephant Pass, they will be able to direct heavy fire in all directions and destroy LTTE positions for the troops to advance and consolidate positions. Troops have already reached Kurinchativu and entered Thamilamadam. When troops consolidate their positions south of Elephant Pass, it will be a daunting task for the LTTE to engage them directly.
Strategic advantageThe fall of Kurinchativu and Thamilamadam gives a strategic advantage to the security Forces who are determined to flush out the remaining terrorists from Elephant Pass, Kilali, Muhamalai and Nagarkovil areas. The Tigers will be left without any supply routes to the area, except from the Vettilaikerni area. This route too will pose a problem for them to evacuate casualties and to transport materials and cadres. Troops are consolidating themselves at Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass. 
Battle in detail: Liberation of KilinochchiThe 57 Division, under the command of Brigadier Jagath Dias and under instructions of Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka, was ready to take over Kilinochchi town on December 31. Brigadier Dias had a brief discussion with his Deputy General Officer Command Colonel Aruna Wanniarachchi and his Brigade Commanders, Colonel Harendra Ranasinghe of 571 and Lt. Colonel Dhammika Jayasundera of 572 and Lt. Colonel Senaka Wijesuriya of 574. Due to obvious reasons, I cannot divulge the names of the intelligence officers who feed the ground and technical intelligence for offensive operations by the ground troops, who were involved in this high-powered discussion. Artillery officers too, attended this conference which was to plan the capture of Kilinochchi. While this conference was in progress, intelligence was received of LTTE positions in Kilinochchi town.
Meanwhile, the 58 Division commanded by Brigadier Shavendra Silva had provided information to 581 Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Sanjaya Wanigasinghe, who in turn coordinated with his colleague Lt. Colonel Deshapriya Gunawardene. The 58 Division was advancing towards Paranthan amidst heavy resistance from the Tigers. And on New Year’s day, January 1, Brigadier Shavendra Silva, General Officer Command, was able to offer a gift to the nation: the capture of Paranthan town. Paranthan is half a kilometre from Kilinochchi and two-and-a-half kilometres from Elephant Pass. In the meantime, Brigadier Shavendra Silva received orders from his superiors to march towards Kilinochchi. 58 Division troops were able to march towards Kilinochchi amidst heavy resistance and gave very good flank support to the 57 Division.
On New Year’s day, the 57 Division comprising the 571, 572 and 574 Brigades, was able to advance into Kilinochchi town. 571 Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Harendra Ranasinghe marching into Kilinochchi from the west encountered heavy resistance which they overcame. Here they came across a cemetery where over 3,000 LTTE carders were buried.
By then, they received fresh orders from the Army Commander, who had said, “Do not withdraw. Continue the attack.” Artillery, mortar and air attacks by the Sri Lanka Air force followed non-stop. Meanwhile the 574 Brigade under Lt. Colonel Senaka Wijesuriya advanced from Iranamadu junction into Kilinochchi town. 572 Brigade under Lt. Colonel Dhammika Jayasundera too advanced towards the town. While advancing, they were able to intercept LTTE radio transmissions in the area. One of these was a transmission between two senior LTTE leaders, Velavan and Deepan. Vellavan who seemed right on the front was telling Deepan, who was probably well behind, that it was impossible to hold the Army advance. “We are getting hammered from all sides. We don’t know from which side the attacks are coming. They are coming from all sides,” Velavan was heard saying. In reply to this, Deepan was urging Velavan to hold the advance. After a while, Velavan’s transmission was heard well behind the lines, urging the other cadres to hold the military advance. This lasted awhile and even without orders to retreat, the LTTE cadres fled.
ControlOn January 2, 2009 morning troops continued their march and the 571 Brigade gained control of the Kilinochchi railway station area. And by afternoon the entire Kilinochchi town was under Army control. Major General Jagath Dias said afterwards, “My main target was to take over Kilinochchi town. This was a team effort. Now we are after Prabhakaran. We can’t leave the terrorist problem for the next generation. We have to settle it now.”
While the battle for Kilinochchi was raging, the LTTE was well prepared to evacuate its casualties by tractor towards Kilinochchi east. Along the way, troops discovered fresh graves even in the town where several dead cadres had been buried. The Tigers had buried their dead even as the battle was raging on the same day.
General Officer Command (GOC) of 57 Division Maj. Gen. Jagath Dias in his press briefing said, “We are after Prabhakaran and rest of the LTTE leadership. The morale of the officers and soldiers is very high and they are committed to complete their mission. Terrorism is the main problem in our country. As Military officers, our prime duty is to eradicate terrorism in our country. Therefore we committed to accomplishing our task. Our victory is due to good leadership, training and moral.
58 Division General Officer Command (GOC) Brigadier Shavendra Silva in his press briefing said, “At the moment the LTTE is running. They don’t have the strength to face the Sri Lankan military Infantry and fire power as our target is to kill the maximum of terrorists. We have done it in the past and we will continue to do so in future.”
Army Commander appreciates Officers who command the battle On January 3 morning, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka took off to Vavuniya accompanied by high ranking officers and also Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya who was in Colombo. Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka was accompanied to the Security Forces Headquarters in Vavuniya by Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, General Officer Command. The Army Commander listened to the debriefing by 58 Division Commander Shavendra Silva as well as 59 Division Commander Nandana Udawatte. The Army Commander conveyed his appreciation to the valiant soldiers for their dedication Incidentally, January 3 was the 50th birthday of Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya. The birthday boy was a happy man as both Paranthan and Kilinochchi were now under his purview. A cake was cut, with everybody singing “Happy birthday” and offered to everyone.
Army Commander has announced that the Task Force I has been elevated to the position of 58 Division from January 3,
Tamil Diaspora funds utilise only LTTE leadership’s comfort . Subsequently, the Army arranged for a media tour of the captured areas. When the media persons visited the area, we could see lots of empty shells strewn all over, conveying the message of how fierce the battles had been. Except for four buildings, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) office, the LTTE command and control centre, the LTTE Peace Secretariat and the administration buildings, there were no other worthy of mention, apart from a hospital donated and built by the Japanese Government. No other buildings had been constructed by the LTTE. The media team saw the massive drinking water tank in the middle of the town blasted by the fleeing Tigers and lying on its side. The media people also did not see evidence of any cultivation of lands in or around Kilinochchi, which hardly showed any signs of having undergone any development. In spite of all the billions of dollars pumped into LTTE coffers by the Tamil Diaspora there were no signs of other construction, infrastructure or development for the betterment of civil society or their livelihoods.
Civilians hostage There were some civilians who had come back. They said they had come from Vadakachchi, east of Kilinochchi. At first reluctant, they gradually began to talk through a translator. They clearly stated that they had no faith in the LTTE anymore. One person said he was an attendant at the hospital. He added that during the four days from December 31 to January 3, there had been around 25 to 30 LTTE casualties admitted to the hospital every day. Some had been in critical condition, he said. He further said that each day some 10 to 15 cadres died in battle front and were buried them in Mulathivu. Their cadres were also rapidly deserting the outfit daily. The hospital worker said they had faith in the Army and that they believed they will be treated fairly. Questioned further, he said that people in Jaffna and Vakarai were now very happy and they too wanted to be like that. “I believe that the LTTE will never ever win”, he further said. “LTTE use civilians as a human shield,” he added through the interpreter.
Battle in MulathivuMeanwhile, in Kumulamunai, in Mulathivu District, a pitched battle erupted. During this battle the LTTE cadres were seen to be demoralised as the fall of Paranthan and Kilinochchi were severe blows to the entire outfit. Here, resistance was very high for the 59 Division. But Brigade Commander Nandana Udawatte urged his troops not to give up, but to move further, that is towards the southern coastal line and west and north-west.
On January 4, the 59 Division’s 14 Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment tactically infiltrated the LTTE built earth bund south of Chillawatte. Troops of the 15 Ceylon Light Infantry confronted LTTE cadres in the thick jungles north of Mullayaweli and after the ensuing clashes they recovered 15 bodies of LTTE cadres.
Mopping upThe 57 Division, Task force 3 and 4 have now opened up the A-34 Mankulam-Mullaitivu road up to Thanniuttu. The Sri Lanka Air Force is providing close air support as as Task force 4 completes mopping up operations. The bulk of the LTTE is at Mullaitivu. Therefore the 59 Division’s Task force 2, 3 and 4 are operating in a south to north thrust of Mullaitivu and the 57 division in a west to east direction. And with the 58 Division heading towards Puthukudyiruppu, the LTTE will be encircled by six formations.
No options While the 58 Division is advancing towards Elephant Pass with heavy fire power, the LTTE supply route is cut off from Paranthan junction, leaving no options for the LTTE. The cadres have already started withdrawing from their defences in and around Elephant Pass, along the narrow land strip linking the Jaffna peninsula with the mainland. According to intelligence reports, the LTTE was preparing to vacate its defences in Eastern Mullaithivu District including Mullaithivu, Oddusuddan and Vatraappalai as the Task Force 4, Task Force 2 and 59 Division are advancing from the south to north towards Mullaitivu and at the moment certain LTTE supply routes are cutoff.