Hours after the army crushed the LTTE’s last offensive action launched on the Mullaitivu front at 1.30 a.m. yesterday killing about 100 cadres, the LTTE offered to silence its guns.

Among the dead were several senior LTTE cadres.

TamilNet reported yesterday that LTTE’s head of international relations S. Pathmanathan alias KP had announced the outfit’s willingness to silence its weapons if that was what the international community wanted.

Major General Kamal Gunarathne yesterday said that the army had repulsed the lagoon borne assault successfully. The LTTE had deployed several fast attack craft to reach the army line and the battle had lasted for about two hours.

Gunarathne, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 53 Division said that his troops and the 59 Division deployed on one of his flanks had caused heavy losses to the LTTE. Speaking to The Island yesterday morning, he said that the army could clear the remaining area within the day. Responding to our queries, he said that both LTTE intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman and Sea Tiger leader Soosai had been monitored on Saturday night. Earlier in the day, the army, he said, had killed Swarnam and Sashikumar Master during a confrontation in the Vellamullivaikkal area.

The 53, 58 and 59 Divisions had been involved in the final battle to clear less than one sq. km area where a couple of hundred LTTE cadres had taken refuge.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told The Island that the army had recovered 70 bodies of LTTE cadres but there were many bodies in the Nanthikadal lagoon. Amidst speculation that the elusive LTTE leader had perished in battle or had taken his life, Brig. Nanayakkara said Velupillai Prabhakaran was still believed to be trapped in the army cordon.

He said that the remaining LTTE cadres had been confined to 800 sq. m land stretch in the Vellaimullaivaikkal area. He said that 50,000 civilians had been rescued during the last 72 hours. All the civilians in the LTTE’s clutches, he said, had been rescued.

On Saturday about 37,000 persons had reached the army lines as troops engaged what was left of the once formidable LTTE fighting formations. Of them, about 30,000 had reached the area held by the 59 Division commanded by Brigadier Prasanna Silva.

The 53 Division has received about 4,300 persons while the 58 Division received about 2,600.