With the Vanni area under its control rapidly shrinking, the LTTE Friday fiercely resisted a multi-pronged ground assault on Mallavi, west of A9 road, situated along the Mankulam-Vellankulam road leading to the north-western coast.

Despite heavy artillery and mortar bombardment and two air strikes, the LTTE had managed to thwart the advance on the strategically located town by bringing in reinforcements to boost its beleaguered defences taking what is believed to have been heavy losses.

While SAARC leaders were arriving in Colombo on Friday under a heavy security blanket, some of the heaviest battles in the recent past on the Vanni front were fought for the control a key supply route between Mankulam on the A9 road and Vellankulam.

The Task Force 1 spearheaded by the Commandos is attacking LTTE positions in the Vellankulam area. The fall of Vellankulam and Mallavi will increase pressure on LTTE positions west of the A9 where three fighting formations (Task Force 1, Task Force II and 57 Division) are advancing northwards on a wide front.

Friday’s Fighting which broke out around 5. 30 a.m. had continued till about 7 p.m. that day.

On Thursday Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa accompanied by Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka visited Mannar and Vavuniya where they reviewed the progress on the two fronts and gave the go ahead for further operations.

A senior military official said Friday’s fighting was the bloodiest on the Vavuniya front where the army 57 Division and the Special Forces had made rapid progress over the past two months. Army headquarters said 11 personnel were killed in action and another 20 wounded. But the LTTE has estimated the army losses at 30 killed and 60 wounded.

Mallavi, situated 13 kms west of Mankulam is widely believed to be a major centre of LTTE operations on the Vanni theatre.

The SLAF Friday carried out three assaults and two of them were in support of the 57 Division trying to break fortified LTTE defences at Mallavi.

Airforce headquarters said Mi 24 helicopter gunships struck at an LTTE position 15 kilometres north-east of Nadunkerni at 11. 40 a.m. This has been in support of the 59 Division deployed on the Welioya front.

The remaining missions were in support of the 57 Division advancing on the Mankulam-Vellankulam road. According to the Air Force spokesperson, Mi 24s had targeted LTTE positions 4 kilometres south-east of Tunukkai junction and 6 kilometres south-east of Thunnukai town.

Both the UNP and the JVP in the run up to SAARC summit had expected the government would halt major military operations. Some opposition spokesmen said the participation of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh would be subjected to a ceasefire on the part of the government.

But that was not the case.

Vellankulam falls