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Soon after capturing the FDLs, the LTTE launched a massive onslaught against the military

Cont....

Stepping stone

It will be a stepping stone for the troops to capture the Vellankulam town on the northern edge of Mannar district along the A-32 road enabling the troops to capture the entire Mannar district in the next step.

Therefore, the claim of the Army Commander to bring the ongoing war against the LTTE to a turning point is becoming a more realistic target. It is becoming realistic not only because the Security Forces were able to capture Vidattalthivu but also due to the troops attached to 57 Division under the command of Major General Jagath Dias reaching the centre of Wanni on the Western flank.

Troops have advanced 40 kilometres into Tiger territory, operating just four kilometres south of Thunukkai, the second biggest administrative centre of the LTTE in the Wanni. The Security Forces are poised to capture this strategically important township which has now been encircled by a massive defence line to defend both Thunukkai and Mallawi towns. The maneuverability of troops with the creation of a massive front on the Western flank of Wanni has put the Security Forces in a more advantageous situation to capture these two strategically important towns as the LTTE is not in a position to deploy their cadres to face the advancing troops.

The capture of Thunukkai will also keep the Security Forces on a more advantageous position as they can take Kilinochchi the heart of the LTTE under the range of their artillery guns. That means the LTTE have to take cover once again in thick jungles or take the remaining civilian population as a shield against the pending artillery threat from the Security Forces.

Once troops attached to the 57 Division advance into these strategically important locations and reach further north Task Force -II operating parallel to the A-9 road can advance in the north-east direction launching a major thrust on the LTTE with the 57 Division widening the front against the LTTE.

The Weli Oya front too can contribute to bring the ongoing war to a turning point as they too are operating just four kilometres South of Kumulamunai the area from which the Security Forces can take the Mullaitivu stronghold of the LTTE under their artillery range.

Once the military fronts achieve these tasks the target predicted by the Army Commander can be achieved without any hesitation as the LTTE is losing its capability to operate as a conventional Army in the Wanni and in the North.

The only option they will be left with is to take the cover of the thick jungle in the Wanni. But this time they are deprived of that chance too as the Security Forces are dominating jungles patches of Wanni.

So the masses will be able to witness the way the LTTE s massive impregnable strongholds fall with the ongoing war being put on a faster track in the coming months once troops pass the milestone of bringing the ongoing war to a turning point as stipulated by the Army Commander. The Path to Vidattalthivu

It was on June 29, 2008 that troops attached to the 58 Division marked a victorious move as they successfully completed Operation Rice Bowl capturing more than 120 square kilometres in the Mannar district. But it was not the end of their operation. There was no time for the troops to rest or flash back on what they had achieved.

It was obvious that their next target was Vidattalthivu, the biggest Sea Tiger base on the Western coast with a natural harbour which cannot be detected from the sea.

Having captured the Rice Bowl by June 29, the troops attached to the 58 division advanced four Kilometres north of the Rice Bowl area up to 12thmile post on the A-32 Mannar -Pooneryn road. Once the troops advanced further northward they found another earth bund similar to the one inside the Rice Bowl area from Pappamoddai to Parappakadattan. The aerial view of the earth bund showed that it ran from South of Vidattalthivu up to Piramanayankulam tank some 10 Kilometres east of Vidattalthivu.

The Southern front was created by the 581 Brigade under the Command of Lt. Colonel Deshapriya Gunwardena and 583 Brigade under the Command of Lt. Colonel Suraj Banshajaya.

The 10 Gajaba Regiment under the command of Lt. Colonel. Sarada Samarakoon, 12 GR under the Command of Major Saliya Amunugama, 8 Gemunu Watch under the command of Lt. Colonel Suminda Jayasundera, and 6 Gemunu Watch under the command of Lt. Colonel Kamal Pinnawala formed the Southern front.

We decided to get the maximum attrition to achieve the Commanders mission and we managed to kill over 100 LTTE cadres, General Officer Commanding of the 58 Division Brigadier Shavendra Silva says while explaining the mission he had undertaken. Within ten days the troops were able to get more than 25 bodies of the LTTE cadres killed in these attritions.

It was after the Army Commander directed that the time was ripe to capture Vidattalthivu the 58 Division began the offensive operation to capture it according to a solid plan given by the Commander as a considerable number of Tiger cadres have already perished during this 10-day period.

Another front from the East of Vidattalthivu was formed to achieve the mission given by the Commander, the Brigadier says.

The eastern front was created by the 2 Commando Regiment under the Command of Second In Command of the 2 Commando Regiment Major Shamal Silva in the absence of its CO Lt. Colonel Jayantha Balasuriya and by the 582 Brigade which consisted of Gemunu Watch under the command of Lt. Colonel Lal Chandrasiri, and 12 Gemunu Watch Under the Command of Lt. Colonel Nandana Dundunuwila.

It was after an initial attack on one selected portion of the 10 Kilometres long defence line the troops understood the fact that the LTTE cannot withstand the fire power and the aggressiveness of the soldiers who assailed the FDL.

They started to flee leaving behind their positions. They were running faster than they ran at the time we captured the Rice Bowl, the Brigadier added.

Their so-called commanders were not aware of what was going on there and were not in a position to control the demoralised cadres who had been forcibly conscripted to the outfit.

The intercepted radio transmissions of the LTTE confirmed that they were totally disobeying the senior cadres and running for their lives.

By this time columns of troops advancing from an east to west direction were operating six kilometres behind the defence line but managed to get maximum killings targeting LTTE cadres fleeing Vidattalthivu.

As per ground confirmation a minimum of 35 to 40 Tiger cadres were killed after getting caught to ambushes laid by the troops operating east of Vidattalthivu whilst a considerable number of cadres were wounded and killed in the Southern FDL.

As the Commando troops came from east to west direction they observed dead bodies lying on the ground with vehicles and motorcycles on the site. It was on Tuesday that evening troops entered the main town of Vidattalthivu.

The continued interception of LTTE transmissions confirmed that LTTE leaders were searching for sub leaders and cadres but none of them had responded to the communications of the leaders.

Many of the Tiger cadres were mentally affected. Now the troops are dominating four kilometres south of Illuppakadavai after advancing further north of Vidathalthivu along the A-32 road.

As per the wishes of the Secretary Defence and the Commander of the Army we will keep our military pressure on the LTTE and advance quickly to the areas they are now dominating. We as officers of a winning team in the Wanni battle are confident of victory, Brigadier Silva remarked.

When is this going to do? Soon or just wait like eastern....?

who told East was a stonghold of ltte.

who told East was a stonghold of ltte. if you have doubt ask Karuna. or ask DBS JAYARAJ.

Boston Globe: Sri Lanka, in danger of becoming a rogue state

'The solution to Sri Lanka's conflict must be political, not military. Rajapakse should be encouraged to strike a deal that grants Tamils substantial autonomy in their own homeland areas. If not, the war will drag on, and Sri Lanka's government may find itself classified alongside the regimes in Burma, Zimbabwe, and Sudan as an international pariah,' Boston Globe, in an editorial published Thursday said.

Full text of the editorial follows:

Sri Lanka's forgotten conflict

PARTISANS of human rights have been rightly outraged this year by the behavior of ruthless regimes in Burma, Zimbabwe, and Sudan. But when the government of Sri Lanka was stripped of its seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council this spring - a body that includes Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Russia among its members - hardly anyone noticed, outside of the small community of human-rights organizations.

This inattention has a price. It means there is scant outside pressure on President Mahinda Rajapakse to protect civilians caught up in a vicious war between the army and separatist guerrillas known as the Tamil Tigers. Tamil civilians in the northern Jaffna peninsula are exposed to indiscriminate bombing and artillery shelling, and a strict army pass system keeps much of the civilian population from escaping.

Human Rights Watch has called on the government to stop the arbitrary detention of Tamil civilians, who have been held in a kind of concentration camp in the north. 'The Sri Lankan government shouldn't treat civilians as criminals just because they're fleeing a conflict area,' said a recent statement from the group's Asia director.

China and competing Asian powers India and Pakistan could help end the conflict. But they have been more interested in doing business in Sri Lanka and securing geopolitical influence there - just as they have in Burma and elsewhere. The solution to Sri Lanka's conflict must be political, not military. Rajapakse should be encouraged to strike a deal that grants Tamils substantial autonomy in their own homeland areas. If not, the war will drag on, and Sri Lanka's government may find itself classified alongside the regimes in Burma, Zimbabwe, and Sudan as an international pariah.

outcome from the fighting in the north determine victory and bring govt to negotiating table without any precondition

Express News 7/11/2008 3:01:56 PM - LTTE's political wing chief V Nadesan in a telephonic interview to Times Now television, said that the group was ready for a ceasefire now.

who told Mannar was a strong hold of ltte ?
who told Viduthalivu is a strong hold of ltte ?
who told Vanni is strong old of ltte ?
who told Mulathivu is strong hold of ltte

After destroying the FDL line of the military at Oddusuddan, the LTTE step by step captured Mankulam, Nedunkerni, Olumadu, Kanagarayankulam and several other areas up to Mannar and Vavuniya. Because of the debacle, the government sent several top military officers home for failing to do their duties.

You are right. East was never even part of tamil kingdom. It was illegally annexed to the Northern province under fake CFA.