- Both parties suffer heavy casualties
By Ranga Jayasuriya
Guns roared in the Wanni front amidst heavy rain lashing the soggy wanni soil as the security forces and Tigers fought a bloody close quarter battle over a trench line.
The military attempted to break through several identified positions at the 25 kilometre long massive earth bund running from Nachchukudah to Akkarayankulam.
They captured some land but then the Tigers put up stiff resistance. Both parties emerged with a bloody nose, with dozens of men dead and some missing.
This earth bund, on which many bunkers have been built, is the main defence of the Tigers against troops pushing towards Pooneryn and Kilinochchi.
On Tuesday morning, troops of 4 Sinha Regiment, attached to 571 Brigade attacked the Tiger defence lines in Vannarikulam. Armed with light anti-tank weapons and high explosive RPGs, they delivered a swift attack. They dislodged the defending Tiger cadres, capturing 600 meters of the defence line.
The Charlie team led by Lieutenants Mangala Rajada and Saminda Thiranagama and the Delta Team led by Captain Malinga Jayasuriya broke into enemy defence lines from two directions, capturing a portion of the defence line. By the noon, the Tigers delivered a fierce counter attack on the troops holding the new positions.
Heavy mortar barrage
Artillery guns which were generally directed towards the Northern defence lines were turned to Akkarayankulam. Heavy mortar barrage rained on the troops. The LTTE attacked the troops holding positions from three directions, attacking in the form of waves, a tested strategy of the LTTE. Close quarter battles raged.
During the fierce fighting, some units of the 4 Singha Regiment were cut off from the rest. They were encircled and pinned down by the Tigers, according to some military sources.
Lt Saminda Thiranagama was killed in the fighting and Captain Jayasuriya was caught in a booby trap.
Scores of soldiers went missing. Later, the LTTE handed over the remains of 30 soldiers through the ICRC.
According to military sources, nearly 50 soldiers were killed in the fighting and 120 wounded. Four Singha Regiment took the brunt of the Tiger attack. Twenty of its soldiers were killed. 68 were wounded in action, many of them are walking wounded-Only 12 classified as P1, critical serious injuries. Eleven soldiers from Ten CLI are also among the dead.
The LTTE had been tight lipped over its casualties. However, guerrilla propaganda machinery was at work around the clock. They splashed the pictures of the corpses of the soldiers retrieved by the guerrillas.
Earlier on Monday night, units of 11 Ceylon Light Infantry attacked the Tiger defence lines near Nachchikudah coast, capturing 500 meters of the line. Fierce fighting raged as the Tigers called for reinforcement from Pooneryn.
The battle raged till the following morning. Both sides are said to have suffered heavy casualties.
Many stories of the valour of the soldiers in the last week’s bitter battles are making rounds in military circles. Several small groups of soldiers, holding the newly captured positions, could not link up with the other units in the face of the fierce counter attack by the Tigers.
They fought till the last bullet. The young lieutenant Thiranagama who commanded the Charlie team on a raid on the Tiger defence line was wounded in action last month. But he reported to duty in a week to take part one of the most risky mission.
On Wednesday, army commander Lt General Sarath Fonseka summoned the 58 Division Commander Brigadier Shavindra Silva and Special Forces Commander Brigadier Nirmal Darmaratne to inquire the situation in the battle front.
The fierce counter attack by the Tigers was expected. Had the 4 Singha Regiment succeeded in breaking through the defence line of the guerrillas, Kilinochchi was only 9 kilometres away.
Breaking through
Pooneryn is located 15 kilometres from the theater of last week’s bitter battles. Had the troops succeeded in breaking through the LTTE defence lines and advance further into the direction of Pooneryn, the Tigers would be in a dilemma over relocating the artillery guns positioned in Kalmunai point, located at the edge of Pooneryn point.
The advance of the security forces towards Pooneryn will enable the government to open the A 32, Pooneryne-Sangupiddy, Mannar road as an alternative land route between the South and the Jaffna peninsula.
Fighting in the wanni front has intensified as the troops push further into the Tiger hinterland. Last week, the 57 Division captured Mallavi, which has been the administrative headquarters of the LTTE during the height of the Operration Jayasikuru. Mallavi, which has been under the control of the LTTE for over twenty five years, is the second most important administrative hub of the LTTE.
Cut off supply routes
Troops of the seven Singha Regiment attached to the 573 Brigade entered the city last Sunday (31). Before the military entry into the town, Charlie, Alpha and Delta teams of the Seven Singha Regiment cut off the supply routes between Thunukkai and Mallavi, thereby preventing the Tigers from receiving reinforcement. By 5.30 pm, the troops had consolidated control in the town.
For the first time in twenty five years, the Sri Lankan national flag was raised in this once stronghold of the LTTE. The next target of the 57 Division will be Mankulam.
It is reported that the Tigers withdrew in two direction as the troops advanced into Mallavi. One group of guerrillas retreated towards Mankulam while the other to Pooneryn. Bitter and bloodier battles are expected in the Northern front as the troops advance deeper into the Wanni. However, the intensity of such attacks will largely dependent on the fact how successful had been the security forces during the two years of attrition against the LTTE.
One officer I spoke to said that about 10 Tiger cadres are killed on average by his troops daily. The military spokesman recently said over two thousand LTTE cadres had been killed this year alone.
Though some of these claims are of the tall order, the absence of a major counter attack by the guerrillas indicate that regular attrition attacks have a toll on them.
But, equally important, as indicated by the last week’s counter attack, the LTTE still possesses a greater part of fighting capability and a contingent of battle harden cadres.
The question is when the LTTE opts to use them against the advancing troops? Will the Tigers yield the ground for the troops to advance towards Pooneryn and Kilinochchi in order to preserve its cadres and take time till troops loose momentum? This classic defence in depth strategy has widely been used by the LTTE against Operation Jayasikuru.
However, last week’s attack indicates that the Tigers are likely to fight the troops along this well fortified defence line.
The strategy of the security forces is concentrated on neutralizing the enemy manpower rather than capturing land.
The security forces have two options. They have to either fight a large contingent of Tigers in Pooneryn and Kilinochchi in or kill as many as possible, by drawing them into the fight in the defence lines, thereby considerably minimizing the enemy resistance when the troops reach Pooneryn and Kilinochchi.On whatever counts, the coming weeks will be bloody in the Northern front.
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