With the army cutting off Kandy-Jaffna A9 road at Mankulam, the stage is now set for troops to evict the LTTE from rest of the road, senior military sources said yesterday.

The capture of strategically located Mankulam, 30 kilometres north of Omanthai, by the recently raised Task Force III (TF III) has divided LTTE positions along the A9 to two segments. The section of the road between Omanthai entry exit point and south of Mankulam is unlikely to pose any major obstacle to the army as the LTTE presence in the area east of the A9 and south of Mankulam-Oddussudan stretch of road is believed to be minimal. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island that once the TF III linked up with the 59 Division deployed on the Weli Oya front, the area south of Mankulam-Oddussudan road would automatically come under the domination of the army.

He asserted that the LTTE, struggling to resist 53 and 55 Divisions, would be compelled to review its deployment of men and material on the neck of the peninsula including Elephant Pass as the Task Force I (TF I) now positioned west of Paranthan-Elephant Pass road could cut its escape route.

Responding to our queries, he said that the LTTE didn’t have the wherewithal to thwart an army advance onto A9. The Tigers would be evicted from A9 and the re-opening of the road closed in August 2006 would be a reality soon, he said.

The 57 Division deployed on the right flank of TF I is tasked with capturing Kilinochchi. The Task Force II (TF II) operating on the right flank of TF III is pushing towards the A9.

Once the campaign on the western flank come to an end, the army would have a massive force to pounce on the area east of A9 and northwards of Mankulam-Mullaitivu road, the Defence Secretary said.

The bottom line was that three Task Forces and one Division now on the western flank and the two Jaffna Divisions too would join the 59 Division to finish off the Tigers. The gradual loss of Mankulam-Mullaitivu (A 34) and Paranthan-Mullaitivu (A 35) roads would rapidly isolate the remaining LTTE units, Rjapaksa said.

He emphasized that this would be largest force assembled in the entire Eelam conflict to carry out a multi pronged offensive targeting the LTTE’s high security zone noting that the 59 Division had already fought its way to Kumalamunai, a village situated about 13 kilometres south of Mullaitivu.

He acknowledged that the only delaying factors would be civilians trapped in the area held by the LTTE and international pressure. Many believed that the war against the LTTE couldn’t be won, he said. In fact, representatives of foreign governments and international organizations asserted that the LTTE was invincible and the army would be bogged down on the Vanni front.