HIGH PROFILE LTTE TARGETS HIT

sandman · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject: HIGH PROFILE LTTE TARGETS HIT

ARTICLE FROM THE SUNDAY LEADER BY AMANTHA PERERA :

High profile Tiger installations hit

On first impression the A9 can appear to be a nondescript highway. No sharp bends, certainly zero hairpin turns and as straight as a highway could get. On either side, it was green bush that would turn into jungle about 100 metres from the road in most places before the main towns appeared. The occasional dust cloud would break out on the side of the road that was more often than not deserted.

The restoration carried out after the February 2002 ceasefire took out most of the A9's quirkiness. Gone were the belly turning potholes that were sometimes wider than the road and where vans would be half submerged. The same fate befell some of the jungle creepers that had advanced beyond the sides of the road and covered the highway. As the peace caravan moved in, they quickly cleared.

All was cleaned, and patched up. With the new layer of tar, even the nasty dust clouds were gone. By end 2002, the A9 was one straight road, newly paved and without much traffic. A speed demon's Christmas gift of choice, except for the occasional Tiger traffic cop.

'Highway of death'

Operation Jayasikurui was launched on May 17, 1997 with the aim of securing government control of the highway. That was not achieved but it made the highway infamous and was indelibly tagged as the 'highway of death.' It also made sure that the first 30 km of the highway would be nothing but shrub - with all civilians having moved out.

It was at Mankulam that the highway gained some diversity. Mankulam is the first of two locations where the A9 meets highways that go sideways. Roads that link Vellankulam on the west and Mulaithivu on the east connect at Mankulam. The other such location is Paranthan, north of Kilinochchi. The roads are like the two sidebars holding the Wanni heartland, with Mankulam and Paranthan acting as brace points.

But even then, there was hardly any activity to talk of - no vendors were on the side of the roads at Mankulam trying to sell whatever they could to the wide-eyed travellers from the south of Vavuniya. It was about 15 km north of Mankulam that signs of humanity really made their appearance.

Kokavil and more so Murugandi, a little bit in to interior from the A9 are 'must-stop' locations. At Murugandi all the buses, lorries and vans will slowly come to a halt on the side of the road and travellers would disembark and walk to the Murugandi temple located on a by-lane on the western side of the road. The air is hot with lamps that are lit and the ground, in parts, will be covered with black patches made by burning oil lamps.

The air is also sweaty and loud with voices of the assortment of vendors plying their craft near the kovil. Other characteristics of the Wanni were also there, a Tiger monument and Tiger police, looking after the crowds.

Some of the travellers were looking for more worldly blessings, like a secluded tops to relieve themselves after hours in tin can like buses.

The last train

Those who knew the history of the bloody war would know of other more sinister past of Murugandi.

Just west of the kovil lies whatever that remains of the Murugandi/Kokavil station. No trains have run through these areas in over two decades and the tracks have been long removed. But it is never difficult to locate the path of a rail track - it snakes through the vegetation like the path left behind by a giant, invisible centipede and the mounds of earth and isolated rafters will tell you where the stations were.

The Murugandi/Kokavil station is yet another bloody landmark - it was here that on January 19, 1985, the Yal Devi train was attacked during its stop at the station. Twenty eight army personnel and 11 civilians died in the attack, 12 carriages were burnt - some of the debris from that attack still remain where they lay since then. More carnage was avoided when the engine driver drove the locomotive towards Mankulam with the injured. The Yal Devi of January 19, 1985 was the last train from Jaffna.

For the army there are other memories. Last week, the army spoke of a brave officer - Lieutenant S.U. Aladeniya, the commanding officer of the Kokavil army detachment. He refused to abandon his camp after it came under attack on July 11, 1990 even after he had received orders to do so.

He defended his camp and his men and paid the ultimate price. Lieutenant Aladeniya was the first army officer to be nominated for the Parama Weera Vibhushana gallantry medal. The camp's main priority was the Kokavil television tower that was beaming state TV channels into the Wanni.

The tower can be still seen rising above the canopy; so are the remnants of the station and whatever remains of the Yal Devi.

Those travellers crazy enough to wade through underbrush, infested with snakes, landmines and other explosive devices would try to get to the station through the Kokavil-Murugandi road. For most of the travellers from the south, the mandatory stop at the kovil did just fine, given the heat and the dust. These however are images from a not so distant past.

Fighting has once again taken over the area. Two weeks ago troops from the 57 Division secured Murugandi station. It was after two decades that the army was able to establish full control in Murugandi/Kokavil.

Discovery

Last week troops from the same division came across a large clearing inside the jungles, about 8 km north-west of Mankulam and around 500 metres west of the A9. The clearing was paved and was surrounded by a high, earth bund.

Getting to it from the south was difficult as access was through the thick Wanni jungles. It was from the south that troops gained entry. But army sources say that access from the north, from the A9, appeared to be far easier.

The length of the clearing was given as 500 metres by the army while reporters from national TV channels embedded with troops gave it as 800 metres. The army said that the clearing may have been used as an airstrip by the Tigers for its propeller driven Zlin 143 aircraft. If the strip is only 500 metres then it could not have been used by the Tigers to take off the aircraft. The Zlins' need at least 640 metres to take off and the recommendation is for a runway that is about 1 km in length.

There was also no clear evidence of any facilities on the ground from the limited information and images made available of the strip. As the Zlins have only flown in the night, they probably require some kind of ground illumination. But that could easily be achieved. The clearing appeared to have been neglected of late.

"The discovery of this 500 metre long airstrip, believed to have been perhaps used by terrorists for landing their light aircraft in an emergency, struck a major blow to their terrorist acts that were escalating. It is also believed the airstrip could have been used as an open parking space or a hangar, in a way, as well" the military said and called the discovery a major breakthrough.

Initially when the Zlins first attacked, in March 2005, there was suspicion that the aircraft were taking off from the western Wanni flank as they kept attacking targets on the western coast and were flying over the northwestern coast, hugging the coast and sea when outside Tiger held areas. In early 2007, the Tigers were in control of the entire southwestern Wanni flank, that they have since lost.

Target locations

The Tigers have also changed the target locations of their air attacks since the August 2007 attack on Anuradhapura, which was right in the middle of the country. Since then the distance has been cut, more than halved, and the targets have been on two areas on the eastern flank, Welioya (April), Trincomalee (August) and in the middle Vavuniya (August).

Since the latest attack on Vavuniya the military has renewed its focus on the A9. Till then advancing troops had remained clear of the highway that was kept safe for civilians as well as humanitarian supplies. But since the attack, troops have homed in on the A9, on two locations - Kokavil and the Mankulam junction further south.

The army suspects that the A9 may have been used to move artillery pieces that were fired on the Wanni Security Forces Headquarters in Vavuniya. The guns were suspected to be stationed at Puliyankulam, south of Mankulam during the attack and Bhanu, who is in charge of the Tiger artillery units has been reported to be stationed in the Mankulam area.

A second suspicion is that the highway may have been used as a take-off platform for the Zlins. No confirmation is available on this suspicion but taking off from the A9 would make the distance to Vavuniya shorter than using one of the three known air strips in Mulaithivu/ Kilinochchi.

According to public statements, the aircraft however followed a north-eastern path on their return, travelling towards Mulaithivu. And last week there were more rumours on the shooting down of one of the craft over Muliyaweli, south of Mulaithivu. Some of the civilians who had reached government held Pulmuddai by boat from Mulaithivu have said that they heard stories of an aircraft going down in the Iranpalai area.

The story is that after the aircraft came down, and the villagers had gathered near the crash site that was near a school, before the Tigers arrived. Later the Tigers had gathered the villagers and prevented anyone from leaving the area that is deep within the jungles.

The story that has now made its way to Colombo says that civilians who made it to government held areas spoke of rumours in Mulaithivu that a white skinned man was seen in the cockpit of the downed aircraft along with another who was of darker skin.

Fuelled speculation

This has once again fuelled more rumours that mercenaries are flying at least one of the Tiger aircraft. The theory of mercenary pilots has gained weight with the ability shown by the Tiger pilots to fly at night and also of late to take counter interception measures that are way beyond the reach of amateurs or pilots with limited flying experience.

One such has been after the August attack on Trincomalee when the pilot of one of the F-7 interceptors had claimed that he had seen the Tiger aircraft. The Zlin had gone into a dangerous dive when the second F-7 came within range, making the latter unable to get a radar lock.

Also there have been other rumours that the lead craft during Tiger air attacks appeared to be much more dexterous than the one that was following. All these stories however have not been confirmed nor acknowledged by the government defence establishment. And this is not the first time there have been stories of the Tigers using mercenaries.

As predicted by the Army Commander two weeks back, artillery fire and aerial attacks intensified over Kilinochchi last week. The jewel in the Tiger showpiece, the two storied Tiger Peace Secretariat, built after 2004 and the main political office with its flower beds across the road were both bombed by air on October 2.

"Meanwhile, defence intelligence sources revealed that the target was engaged on real time ground intelligence of a meeting of senior LTTE cadres at the location. The LTTE has maintained the targeted camp complex as its main military coordinating centre, the sources added. Elaborating further on the air strike, the sources said that the targeted camp is situated at Paravipanjan in Kilinochchi," the Defence Ministry said.

Battle picks up

The Tigers said that their political headquarters was bombed and two civilians travelling on the road were killed and five others injured. The Peace Secretariat had gained popularity during the CFA as it was the main meeting place used by the Tigers to meet visiting VVIPs, grant interviews and hold press conferences.

The other office that was bombed across the road from the Peace Secretariat, served the same purposes before the Peace Secretariat was put up. It was a house that was made to serve as an office. There were no reports of Tigers using the offices when the air raids took place.

On October 3 morning several other office complexes in Kilinochchi town, including the Tiger Police Headquarters were bombed.

"Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets carried out two successive air strikes, one of them engaged the main office complex of the high profile LTTE leader, Nadeshan, located in the Kilinochchi town perimeter, this morning, October 3," the Defence Ministry said.

"Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir bombers attacked the headquarters complex of the Tamileelam Police, located along the A9 road at the heart of Kilinochchi town Friday around 9.30 am. Three bunker-busting bombs hit the premises of the Tamileelam Police, destroying a hall behind the Police HQ. The main building escaped destruction as Ratha Anti-Aircraft Unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) fired at the bombers. Two of the bombs hit the nearby store of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) causing damage to it. The attack comes after continuous barrage of artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire from 7.00 pm on Thursday to 4.30 am on Friday, targeting the destruction of the township," TamilNet reported.

By all signs the battle for Kilinochchi has picked up.

I AM BRAINLESS, SO PLEASE EXCUSE ME !!!!!!