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Sri Lankan rebel air raids show war not over
Wednesday, 29 October 2008 - 7:08 PM SL Time
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Dual Tamil Tiger air raids on Sri Lanka`s capital and a northern military base show the guerrillas are not out of the fight despite the government`s confidence it is close to ending the 25-year-old civil war.
Analysts said the raids by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam`s (LTTE) ramshackle air wing followed a familiar pattern of giving the rebels a morale boost when they appeared under pressure in the northern war zone.
The military has been steadily advancing into Tiger-held territory in northern Sri Lanka with the aim of ending one of Asia`s oldest insurgencies. The military on Wednesday said troops had captured the Jayapuram area after heavy clashes.
The Tigers are fighting to create a separate homeland for Sri Lankan Tamils, many of whom complain of marginalisation by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since independence from Britain in 1948.
`When the Tigers are under pressure militarily up north, they try to divert attention to southern or central parts and hit where the government is weak,` Eurasia Group analyst Maria Kuusisto said.
`They understand that these are going to be psychologically and strategically good targets to attack.`
The rebel raid at the Kelanitissa power station in Colombo late on Tuesday started a fire and killed one person who died of a heart attack and wounded two, hospital officials said.
The military said an attack on the Thalladi army camp an hour earlier wounded three people.
PRIMITIVE PLANES
As a plane appeared on radar heading south to Colombo, authorities shut off the lights and scrambled jets then anti-aircraft fire streaked the sky off the capital`s shoreline.
The pro-rebel web site www.TamilNet.com on Wednesday said the Kelanitissa raid killed a turbine operator and knocked out two turbines and two air coolers, citing unidentified sources.
The government earlier had said only two coolers were hit.
TamilNet also said the attack at Thalladi, in Mannar district near the war zone about 250 km (155 miles) north of Colombo, caused heavy damage. The military said it barely caused any.
Colombo-based defence analyst Iqbal Athas said the latest strike by the Tamileelam Air Force, or `Air Tigers`, showed the resilience of what is widely regarded as one of the world`s most ruthless and effective guerrilla groups.
`However primitive, their air ability remains. They have been able to demonstrate nine times that they can carry out a sortie and get away, and on all of those occasions the air force has not been able to neutralize them,` Athas said.
The air force has been embarassed and frustrated by its inability to stop the propeller-drive two-seater planes despite vastly superior supersonic jets and radar.
The military has said it believes the Tigers` air wing, which debuted in March 2007 with a bombing run on the military air base inside Colombo`s international airport, consists of three Czech-made Zlin-143 aircraft.
The last raid was in September, when the military said it had shot down one of the planes after it attacked a military base in Vavuniya, near the frontlines. The Tigers denied that and no evidence has ever been made public by either side.
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tigeress19
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 29 Oct 2008 13:18:04 GMT Report for Abuse
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| If there is any sinhalas with the right mind will chase the rajapake family out of the island... |
sela36
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 29 Oct 2008 13:20:00 GMT Report for Abuse
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If there is any sinhalas with the right mind will chase the rajapake family out of the island...
ssss... silence please more MIGS to be purchased |
gonnamba
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 29 Oct 2008 13:24:11 GMT Report for Abuse
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Roshan Gunathilake smoking Ganja in Wanathamulla
He better keep smoking.
Regardless of the reported outcome of the TAF attack, it is an utter shame to the AF again for not being able to detect and intercept these guys before they reached all the way to Colombo AGAIN.
He should step down. But then again this is SriLanka.. He might ask for a raise in salary !!
SLAF must be pounding the IRANAMADU gravel dump again with full vigor. :(
Brilliant work by the TAF.. Again :( |
KfirC2
Joined: Sep 2006
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 29 Oct 2008 13:25:39 GMT Report for Abuse
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What a victory for terrorists & terrorists diaspora, you managed to kill a 52 old man
But however Peelam is strinking, still terrorists are homeless |
jacob99
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 29 Oct 2008 13:25:59 GMT Report for Abuse
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TN tamils boosting the tigers...
Sri Lankan Biz man Raju's Brother in law Sarath kumar leading the protest in TN..
Oneday Monks and JVP will kick Raju out of lanka and never allow SarathKumar to visit lanka
Edited By - jacob99 - 29 Oct 2008 13:27:43 GMT |
ajan
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29 Oct 2008 13:28:05 GMT Report for Abuse
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Welldone TAF boys, wish you all great success and long life.
i was hoping our sinhala brothers will shoot down at least one of their SLAF planes. just like they did in anuradapura.
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shan
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29 Oct 2008 13:29:53 GMT Report for Abuse
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What a victory for terrorists & terrorists diaspora, you managed to kill a 52 old man
better than bombing a schools, hospitals and temples. |
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29 Oct 2008 13:10:58 GMT