59 Div takes largest LTTE airstrip
Final battle likely in Pthukudirippu jungles
Navy throws cordon off Mullaitivu

       The Keppapularu airstrip                                        A hanger

The Army is poised to thwart a possible attempt by LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, his family and the top leaders to escape by closing the north-eastern seaboard completely.

Authoritative military sources said that the 53and 55 Divisions rapidly advancing southwards on the narrow neck of land towards Chundikulam would link-up with the 59 Division now deployed just south of the LTTE’s last stronghold at Mullaitivu on the north-eastern coast.

Sources said that the army would reach Chundikulam as early as Sunday (11) evening. The spearheads of the 59 Division were about 20 nautical miles away from Chundikulam. The army said that this distance could be covered within a week.

This would be a significant development in Sri Lanka’s war against terror, sources said adding that since India launched a programme to recruit, train and deploy Tamil youth against the then government of President J. R. Jayewardene in the early 1980s, Sri Lanka had never succeeded in bringing the entire coastline under its control. The army, after clearing the entire area west of the A9 was closing-in-on the LTTE’s only access to sea, the sources said. That would be the end of the Sea Tigers, as they would be left without any launching pads, an official said.

The security forces will now concentrate on Chundikulam and Nanthikandal lagoons on the eastern Vanni.

Failure of successive governments to tackle the seagoing arm of the LTTE effectively, the Sea Tigers, over the past two decades, had been able to bring in massive stocks of arms, ammunition and equipment, sources said.

The navy has thrown the bulk of its assets, including over two dozen Fast Attack Craft (FACs), six Offshore Patrol Craft (OPVs), Special Boat Squadron and the recently set up Rapid Action Boat Squadron to guard the sea frontage. The heavy naval presence, believed to be the largest single concentration of firepower, was part of its strategy to thwart any attempt on the part of the LTTE and its foreign supporters from interfering with the ongoing combined security forces campaign.

The navy being responsible for the destruction of eight LTTE floating arsenals is believed to have tracked down some other LTTE overseas assets in the recent past.

Sources asserted that the LTTE would vacate Mullaitivu and move into Puthukudirippu region, where it would make a final stand.

Responding to our queries, an official said that the area still under LTTE control was within the range of artillery from several directions. Army Chief Lt. General Sarath Fonseka recently said that the LTTE had been boxed into a triangle smaller in size than the Thoippigala-Narakkamulla area.

The 55 and 53 Divisions conducting operations at Nithiyavedda and Kattundarkulam on Saturday (10) recovered bodies of three LTTE cadres along with 8 T-56 rifles, two Multi Purpose Machine Guns (MPMG) and four radio communication sets.

The army, over the weekend, also seized the LTTE’s largest airstrip in the eastern part of the Vanni region. The runway built during the CFA and expanded after eruption of Eelam War IV had fuelled speculation that the LTTE was planning to bring in supplies by air. The airstrip located at Keppapularu, 6.5 km north-west of Mulliyawalai town and 5 km west of Nanthikandal lagoon was captured by the 59 Division on Saturday.

Army headquarters said that the 9SR (Sinha Regiment) commanded by Colonel Janaka Ariyarartne had captured a section of the airstrip by Friday evening and overran the entire area over the weekend. The 2.5 km long airfield with a 1.5 km long and 100 m wide tarmac was believed to be one of the most secured areas in the LTTE-held area. The facility included two hangers and several huts partly destroyed by the fleeing LTTE.

Since the launch of the Vanni offensive, the army has captured four airstrips at Panikkankulam area, Nivil area, jungle area south of Iranamadu tank and Keppapularu.

Sources said with the capture of the LTTE’s largest airstrip at Keppapularu equipped to accommodate large fixed aircraft, the LTTE would have to abandon any plan to airlift the LTTE leadership to a safer location overseas.

Armed forces officers said that the LTTE leader and his chief lieutenants, including Sea Tiger leader Soosai, Intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Swarnam had several options. As they couldn’t get away, they would have to commit suicide, surrender to the army, die at the hands of the army, perish in air assaults or go underground and live among the people. The sources also speculated on the possibility of a faction within the LTTE assassinating Prabhakaran to force an immediate end to fighting.