DefenceWire

Karadiyanaru Police Station Blasted by Accident

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:48:00 +0000

14 police officer were killed and another 16 injured in a massive accidental explosion at the Karadiyanaru Police Station around 11.30am today. The blast claimed the lives of 6 civilians while 52 others were injured. The details of this explosion are revealing themselves only now.

Investigation units confirmed a short while ago that 700kg of Gelignite stored at the police station by the Chinese construction company CONVAC had detonated during loading killing the two Chinese workers first and then the others.

The majority of the other civilians killed and injured in the incident were visiting the police station and the adjacent Govijanaseva Depot. The blast left a hole in the ground measuring roughly fifteen feet by nine feet.

The police station is situated 500 meters from Karadiyanaru town on the Chenkaladi-Maha Oya road.

Remember Forever!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:37:00 +0000

Dear readers,

It was on the night of the 19th and dawn on the 20th one year ago that Sri Lanka rid itself completely of the plague known as terrorism and became a country where there is freedom of movement for all. One right at a time!

Let us remember those that gave their lives to make this a reality and remember all the misguided LTTE youth with compassion.

Thank you,

DW Team

The Imaginarium of Dr. Channel 4

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:39:00 +0000

Channel 4 Television yesterday posted a story on its website titled "Sri Lanka Tamil Killings Ordered from the Top", another damning article against, firstly the Military (SLA) and secondly the Political Leadership. We wish to address the first accusation against the Military (SLA) in this article response. This is the first (and hopefully the last) reaction to Channel 4 by DefenceWire.

Before getting into the factual accuracy of these written and video reports, we would like to address the ethnicized language used in the written article beginning with its title "Tamil Killings". The ethnicized language is contained even in the video report which claims a "point blank executions of Tamils by uniformed Sri Lankan soldiers", which video is claimed to have been "authenticated by the UN".

It is disturbing to hear a news service make such unfounded claims based on an act carried out by 2-3 men in green uniform in an obscure video and blame it on the entire Sri Lankan Military. Channel 4 goes beyond all reasonable explanation to claim that the victims were Tamils. How did Channel 4 make this conclusion about the victims' ethnic identity by watching an obscure video clip is a complete mystery to us.

The choice of words in both the written and video reports is astounding and hints at a massacre of one ethnic group by another (Tamils massacred by Sinhalese) as in a genocide--an unmistakable parallel to the LTTE's own propaganda.

Channel 4 forgets that, of the total Tamil population in Sri Lanka, less than 330,000 were trapped in the No-Fire Zone area as hostages of the LTTE. These men, women and children were liberated in batches by the Army--the overwhelming majority of whom are still living.

The impact of this ethnicized rendering of the report has a definite impact on the subsequent reading of the statements made by the secretive "Commander and front line soldier". Their statements are as follows:

Soldier: "Yes, our commander ordered us to kill everyone. We killed everyone."

Commander: "Definitely, the order would have been to kill everybody and finish them off...I don't think we wanted to keep any hardcore elements, so they were done away with. It is clear that such orders were, in fact, received from the top."

Maybe it is us, here at DefenceWire but what is the connection between this statement and the angle of the story, beginning with the title "Tamil Killings"? To us the statements made by these two mysterious men could, if they were really from the Sri Lanka Army, indicate orders to eliminate members of the ruthless Tamil Terrorist group. Read the statements and you will realize that they say nothing about the killing of civilians here.

In the second clip, a man with a British accent voicing over a clip of the alleged 'front line soldier' says he killed civilians. Posed the question "what happened when the LTTE and its families surrendered with white flag" the man with the British accent now interpreting the ‘front line soldier’ says "first we arrest them, tortured them, and killed them". This is where the report loses all credibility.

Front line infantry troops only rescued the persons trapped within the NFZ. They were never given orders or had the time or skills to interrogate them. When the Army has been given orders to kill all terrorists and the terrorists have fought the Army with everything they had, including suicide bombers, would any LTTE leader in his/her right mind, fleeing from the battle to safeguard his/her life and the lives of his loved ones, openly claim to front line troops that they were from the LTTE?

The front line troops, even if a Tamil person claimed they were from the LTTE would not be able to identify them as LTTE. There was only one unit that can identify LTTE leaders and their families. That was Military Intelligence. Even then, not every officer or NCO in the MI would know all the leaders of the LTTE and their families.
Unless hoards of experienced MI officers and men come forward making this claim starting now, there is no way anyone with a reasonable knowledge of the last days of the war could trust the words of this alleged 'front line' soldier. The same applies to the ‘Commander’. Unless he was Chula Dias, Shavendra Silva, Prasanna Silva, Chagie Gallage or any of the Majors General or Brigadiers directly in-charge of troops in the front lines, there cannot be an iota of reliability in these claims.

A soldier is commanded by a junior officer. That officer could be a 2Lt or Lt or sometimes even a Captain or Major. To make the claim that there was an order given from the 'top', one must know what that top is in a battlefield scenario. The Secretary Defence, the Army Commander nor even a Division Commander would order a soldier directly. The so-called ‘Commander’ is relating second or third hand accounts of what could have been the orders. This is too presumptuous. This combined with the fact that only one 'front line soldier' has 'confessed' indicates nothing.

For the sake of the argument, let’s assume that a killing took place on the battle field as described by these two men. Does it indicate systematic, targeted and deliberate killing of LTTE surrendees and Tamil civilian throughout the battle field? That's negative. Thousands of LTTE cadres, both hard and soft core have been documented by the MI as surrendees and those documents are in the possession of humanitarian organizations. Some of these men, women and children have even been rehabilitated and handed over to their families.

We at DefenceWire would like to demand from Channel 4 the identity of the two men. The identity of these men and the video containing their full statements must be handed over to the government for investigations to be carried out on these massacres. This is because Channel 4's report suggests one incident of extra judicial killing; that which was alleged by the soldier. This soldier must be allowed to provide his evidence to the proper local authorities. Any attempt by Channel 4 to withhold that information would tantamount to conspiracy against the Sri Lankan people.

If by any chance members of the Armed Forces did make such statements to a foreign media they should be severely dealt with. The Army, just like any other profession or place of occupation is not always a just place. There are no workers' unions in the armed forces. All officers and men enlisting in them do so with the awareness that they must comply with the rules and regulations of the armed service but have the option of complaining TO YOUR SENIOR OFFICERS UPON COMPLETION OF TASK if the task was against the law (Comply and Complain). Go beyond those boundaries and they are errant on the side of military laws and regulations.

Perhaps the final twist in this Channel 4 story appears at the end of the video documentary. This indicates the hidden interest of Channel 4. The long sob story of decay and ruin of the ‘paradise island’ ends with the mentioning of war crimes charges being leveled against the Secretary Defence, a man who was instrumental in kicking Channel 4 out of Sri Lanka long before this alleged massacre.

Political Journalism

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0000

A particularly disturbing article has been published in an online news website claiming that a former Director Military Intelligence (DMI) is going to resign after being forced to testify against General Sarath Fonseka.

General Karunasekara, as a Brigadier and DMI worked very closely with General Fonseka during the humanitarian operation. He was part of a team of talented officers working under Fonseka who saw the war to its very end. This alone is not evidence to tie the loyalties of Karunasekara with Fonseka.

It is true that a few intelligence officers were questioned after the Fonseka Fiasco by the CID. The questioning was not heavy and the CID wanted to know it these officers had been instructed by Fonseka to conduct any activities against the state. General Karunasekara was not among those questioned.

The other blatant lie in this report is that intelligence officers under General Kapila Hendevitharana as DMI/DGMI, had taken bribes from the LTTE and that General Karunasekara (then Brigadier) had been appointed DMI by Fonseka to replace Hendevitharana and rid the forces of this corruption.

General Hendevitharana is an officer with an exemplary record of service for Military Intelligence. We do not wish to go into exact details of his work during the war but many would know from published reports the services we are referring to.

This is not the first and last time that Political Journalism has attempted to defame good officers. These sites once destroyed the illustrious career of General Fonseka. Let us hope they do not do any more damage to the Sri Lanka Army.

Call to Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:04:00 +0000

As you are probably aware, the United States of America recently halted training for all our elite troops, particularly the Special Forces, Commandos and the Special Task Force.

The decision to stop all training activities in USA for officers and men of the Special Forces came after a damning statement by the former Commander of the Army, Ret. General Sarath Fonseka. Fonseka directly implicated the Special Forces in an alleged massacre of top ranking Tamil Tigers during the final phase of the war.

Though the Sri Lankan elite troops have ample training, experience and skill, the halting of training and recognition as candidates by US military schools is still a blow to the pride of our military officers and men who fought to eradicate terrorism from the face of the earth and rewrote the manuals on Counter Terrorist (CT) and Counter Insurgency (CI) during the course of it.

Among those young officers scheduled to be trained in US military schools in 2010 included a number of LRRP officers.

Not to be outdone, the Commander-in-Chief, President Mahinda Rajapakse has obtained opportunities for training for our elite troops with the Russian Spetsnaz or Special Forces training schools during a recent visit to Moscow. Sri Lankan troops are also receiving training in China.

DefenceWire's humble appeal to our expatriate readers, particularly those residing in USA is to campaign diligently to reinstate these training opportunities for our elite troops. This is in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Foreign Relations, December 2009. Page 17 of that report states:

The U.S. Congress should:
1. Authorize the U.S. military to resume training of Sri Lankan military officials to help ensure that human rights concerns are integrated into future operations and to help build critical relationships.

Human rights awareness could be built-in to any future trainings of our elite troops by the United States. The current political tussles in Colombo or any diplomatic misunderstandings between Colombo and Washington D.C. have nothing to do with these officers who must be judged on the basis of individual and collective merit in the true war on terror.

Some exclusives on Fonseka Coup, HICORP etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:09:00 +0000

First allegations of a Fonseka Coup/plot in 2005

The first allegations that Fonseka was plotting against the political leadership of the country came in late 2005 when he was chosen and subsequently appointed Army Commander. These allegations were made by some top-ranking Army officers. We were privy to some of this information at that time.

While a good section of President Rajapakse's close aides took it seriously, Secretary Defence Gotabhaya Rajapakse vetoed the allegations and defended Fonseka. His argument was Fonseka was a necessary evil, an equal matching force to route the LTTE.

Second allegation of a Fonseka Coup/plot in 2007-08

Allegations against Fonseka came up again from within the Army following 1) the acquisition of large amounts of armoured vehicles considered at that time to be ideal for crowd control in a military take-over. This was later disproved with the launching of the Mechanized Infantry Division combining the Air Mobile Brigade (termed jokingly at that time as පයිං යන Air Mobile due to the Army not having air capabilities to airlift these units to battle), units of the Armoured Corp and others.

2) Fonseka was again suspected of planning a coup when he brought his Sinha Regiment to guard vital installations in Colombo. The greatest fear of a coup arose when he attempted to change the security at the Presidential Palace. Subsequently the President's Corp was created to provide security to the President, his family and other dignitaries.

Third allegation of a Fonseka Coup/plot in 2009

The third allegation of a coup arose when some members of the Special Forces and Military Intelligence who were reporting directly to Fonseka provided information to Fonseka above a particular Brigadier and the Secretary Defence on the demise of Prabhakaran and other top-ranking Tigers. This happened soon after Fonseka returned to the country during the final phase of the war.

Fonseka despised the use of the Special Forces by this particular Brigadier (now Major General) and above all, Secretary Defence (operating through the Brigadier). He got into loggerheads with both claiming as his point of argument the 26 Special Forces killed during the final phase of the battle could have been minimized if the operation was not rushed.

Fonseka under surveillance

Constant rantings by Fonseka, particularly before and after the Army Tattoo led to him being kept under surveillance. It was even accused that the then Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda had a team following Fonseka. It was during this period that Fonseka was approached by Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Kumara.

Fonseka did not always show respect for his peers in the Security Forces. His command of the Sri Lanka Army gave him enormous power which he did not hesitate to demonstrate even at Security Council meetings. He had the comparative advantage of being a ground commander and having access to an experienced and talented Army. He deeply despised anyone in the Army directly reporting to the political command.

Fonseka's ambition was to command a very large Army but the politicians did not trust his motives and, above all, his ego. Some might say that the politicians were proven right. Others say misplaced suspicions drove Fonseka to take revenge.

HICORP

Upul Illangamge was first alerted to his name being part of an investigation on HICORP soon after Fonseka's political defection. He was contacted by investigators in Sri Lanka who had by that time arrested agents of HICORP in Sri Lanka. The documents the investigators uncovered contained Illangamge's name.

Whether Illangamge's name was used fraudulently and without his express approval or whether Illangame was left sore by Danuna Tillekeratne in a procurement deal is not clear. What is clear is that Illangamge's statement was not made under duress or for the promise of money. He was clearly angry with Danuna and Fonseka. If not, Illangamge would not take steps to file a complaint with the FBI on the HICORP deal.

Protests by Maha Sangha

Reports from within higher echelons of the Police and Politics indicate that the deep driver of the resentment by the Maha Sangha, particularly that of a chief prelate is the government dismissing some favors made by the said prelate directly to President Rajapakse. This particularly concerns a request that DIG Nimal Mediwaka of Kandy be appointed IGP. The government went on to appoint DIG Mahinda Balasooriya as IGP instead.

Fonseka Arrested

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:39:00 +0000

Gen Fonseka was arrested a short while ago by a contingent of Army officers on charges of conspiring to kill President Rajapakse.

The Fonseka (post November 2009) Fiasco

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:14:00 +0000

General Fonseka: Military leader, failed Presidential candidate

At DefenceWire we have established, for our own team, 3 points of analysis for examining Sarath Fonseka. We would like to share those with you. The first is Sarath Fonseka pre December 2005 (Sarath Fonseka: the early and not so famous years). The second is Sarath Fonseka post December 2005 and upto mid-November 2009 when he was Commander of the Army. The Third point of analysis is Sarath Fonseka post November 2009 when he became a political candidate.

Upto the end of his military career, Sarath Fonseka was described and analyzed on the merits of his Command as a military officer. Citizens who were opposed to terrorism saw him as a hero, some even calling him "Nandimithra", the great warrior general of King Dutugemunu. Those who favoured terrorism, like the separatist Tamil elites in the TNA and Tamil Diaspora, considered him a criminal. He was acknowledged as a great military leader regionally and even internationally by forces opposed to terrorism as a concept and phenomenon.

Following his entry into politics however, that description has changed. We would like to describe it as a broadening of the unit of analysis to include all three periods of Fonseka's life described above. This analysis had to include his personal life and character during his military career.

The political arena, as was witnessed, is a whole different ballgame for a military man. It is more so when he is campaigning for the biggest job in the country. The candidates have to embrace the fact that every aspect of their character, from the time they held a responsible office, will be scrutinized. Herein lies the dilemma.

Does one scrutinize a successful military commander-turned candidate based on the merits of THAT job (past military record)? or does one scrutinize his political record? which, in Fonseka's case was non-existent. We do not know of a single military officer (perhaps Yoshitha being the exception) who enters the service with at least a figment of an imagination of eventually running for a public office or even President.

This is why military service has been separated from political service, at least at this level. Now, had Fonseka campaigned for the forthcoming General Election without campaigning the last Presidential Election, he would have stood a chance of being elected and would still be the darling of the masses.

But, unfortunately, he chose the latter maybe because he wanted to get even with the Rajapakses, but also because a group of opportunistic political jackals (we will explain why we use this term) saw this as the opportunity for some reflected glory in the war victory and a chance to "Send Mahinda Home". Fonseka post November 2009 would have agreed to both these objectives.

Both Fonseka and the pack of jackals were guided by political expediency rather than principles and lost handsomely. For those jackals that lured the lion and turned him into a half-breed, this is what they do.

But this is NOT what military officers do, at least that was not the precedence in Sri Lanka until Fonseka post November 2009. The task of the lion was to form the vanguard around the lambs and protect the lambs from harm and not to charge into the midst of the lambs with a pack of jackals asking to be elected their king.

The luring of the lion (and the lion being lured) and a few other lions following their leader into this mish-mash of things has discredited the uniform. This was inevitable. Fonseka and his followers made this choice. They will now have to live with it.

The Army will have nothing to do with it either, for if they did, the 5 forcibly retired Generals (and we can name at least five more who Fonseka promoted above others) would have left the Army and joined his campaign. Now a show of support like that would have definitely turned the tables on the Rajapakse regime. But this did not happen.

Lesson learnt? Politicians cannot be discredited the same way that you cannot mud-wrestle with a pig. But military officers can and will be discredited and they will suffer, for it is a profession with honour. It is a profession that trains one to die for that honour.

The Coup

Totally fabricated coup designed to create a public opinion to purge Fonseka from public life forever, which also reinforces our argument about the lion laying in with the jackals/pigs and losing its credibility. Our estimate is that the government, which is also made up of some cunning jackals of its own, will eventually get Fonseka to commit a mistake (or capitalize on one he has made already, like the statement he made to Frederica Janz) and lap him up using the long arm of the 'law'.

The people of this country, except those reeling under the pain of their favorite party losing and with it their own personal projects, will not say "අෙන් අෙපායි" at least to the extent they would have said අෙන් අෙපායි to "General Fonseka post November 2009" being put behind bars.

The statement made to Janz

What happened on that day was reported by us as follows (DefenceWire May 20th 2009). Sometimes reading between the lines maybe encouraged.

As reported by the media, LTTE's former police and 'political wing' chief and chief spokesman Nadesan, his family, Pulidevan and his family and Ramesh and his family have all died and their bodies discovered by the Special Forces.

There were rumours that the two leaders had gone down on their knees and begged the Special Forces at which point they assumed the Special Forces to smile and let them go.

Rumours are that Prabhakaran's entire family was dead. These rumours indicate that even Prabha's daughter, Duharga was there at the scene. Until otherwise indicated by the government, at this moment in particular, their bodies are nowhere to be found.

Other leaders like Lawrence, Karikalan, Ilanthirayan, Papa, Sempian etc are also dead. Their bodies might also be discovered in due course.

The chief of the LTTE's Mine-laying unit and a chief innovator of the Jhonny Mine and other deadly IEDs has died having lost both his legs in a mysterious blast. The LTTE's chief of smuggling with India and the deputy of the international procurement units (not Castro) have also died.

So did Fonseka spill the beans at the interview with Frederica? What was the point in Fonseka's idea of taking LTTE cadres alive? (කන්නදීල ඇතිකරන්නද?) Is it true that the Secretary Defence wanted the war to end on the 18th? Did he commit the Special Forces, which was the Commander's Reserve, to the final battle to secure an early end to the war for fear of an international attempt to rescue the LTTE leadership if it dragged on any further? Did Fonseka get angry with that decision made when he was away in China? Was he also angry that his own reserve was deployed from under his nose and that his own pace to end the war was somehow jeopardized? Did he feel angry that Gotabaya had stolen his thunder? These questions may have the answers embedded in them.

About whose right and whose wrong?

No one is completely right and completely wrong in this fiasco. Any one who thinks he knows what's completely right (or whose completely right) and what's completely wrong (or whose completely wrong) in this chaotic episode of contemporary Sri Lankan history is an idiot.

Thank you

DW, dA

Politics in the uniform

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:48:00 +0000

As our readership probably know by now, 5 Majors General, 5 Brigadiers and about 10 other officers and other rankers (NCOs) have been retired with effect from January 30th 2010.

These officers and men have been charged and in some cases found guilty of canvassing for the candidacy of Retired General Sarath Fonseka, even openly urging their men to vote for General Fonseka.

Among them are Major General Rajitha Silva (VIR) and Major General Jayanath Perera (Sinha), who are the splitting image of their Commander in more ways than one.

Except one officer, Major General Mahesh Senanayake, all others did not perform any pivotal operational duties during the war. Mahesh Senanayake functioned as D-Plans (Director Planning) and assisted the Army plan its strategic objectives until he was promoted to DGM-Plans (Director General Military Planning).

However, the incompetence of Generals like Samantha Sooriyabandara is legendary in the Army. In one battle at Muhamalai, he led 300 men to their death with another 1000 injuried. 26 soldiers lost both their arms and legs in this battle. This is the worst military operation conducted since 2005.

On April 24th 2008 defenceWire wrote:

Yesterday's battle needs to be corrected in the following way....

Troops from 55 Division advancing from Nagarkovil captured the LTTE's Forward Defence Line and recovered 17 dead bodies of Tigers. The LTTE was in total disarray in this front. However, in the next front at Muhamalai and Kilali, troops from the 53 Division who attempted to charge the LTTE FDL was beaten back heavily in open terrain by long range artillery and mortar fire. Troops who managed to enter the LTTE trenches were killed in booby traps planted by the Tigers.

Although the 55 Division had captured the Tiger FDL, the 53 Division's bungling made it impossible to link the line and troops withdrew after several hours with the dead bodies of Tigers, some of which was handed over to Jaffna police yesterday to be given to ICRC.

The 53 Division, comprising only regular infantry (533/534) also includes the Mechanized Infantry and Air Mobile Brigades. Some sources have claimed 53 Div comprises of Commandos and Special Forces. This is not true. These two specialized Regiments comes under the Army Commander's Reserve since a few years back.

Who did this?

The defeat at Muhamalai yesterday is the 3rd comprehensive defeat in Jaffna in recent times. Two of the three operations were led by Brigadier Samantha Sooriyabandara. Despite yesterday's loss and another loss many months ago where two Main Battle Tanks were lost due to poor leadership, Brigadier Sooriyabandara is to be appointed Defence Attache to the Sri Lanka Embassy in the United States, highly placed sources told DefenceWire.

As we had mentioned in April 2008, despite this massive debacle, General Fonseka arranged for Sooriyabandara to be sent to Washington DC as the Sri Lanka Government's Defence Attache. He was recently recalled before being sent on compulsory leave. Sooriyabandara has been replaced by Brigadier G.V. Ravipriya, the excellent, battle-hardened young officer who commanded Task Force 8.

It is a well known fact in the Army that a number of battle-hardened officers who performed a yeoman service during the war like Prasanna Silva, Chagi Gallage, Shavendra Silva, Kamal Gunaratne etc. were to be sent home under a Sarath Fonseka Regime. This regime never materialized and now General Fonseka's "Team" is at the receiving end of the stick. This is the danger of bringing politics into the Army and/or the Army going into politics. In retrospect, a lot more damage would have been caused to the Army had political power changed hands.

Sit Rep 31 Oct 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:13:00 +0000

A cautionary note on the present situation re Gen Fonseka. Our task was to allow things to settle down on their own which has worked. However, recent developments led particularly by a section of the diaspora Sinhalese is a cause of concern for DefenceWire.

DefenceWire team's stance up to now has been to avoid commenting on this dispute knowing fully well the capacity of both the present government and SF to come to a compromise on:

1. The direction the Sri Lankan Military will take
2. The direction General Fonseka would have to go

These may not be the most ideal directions for either, yet they are ones that are at best described as realistic and unavoidable.

There are many moves by politically motivated Sri Lankans, including Sinhala groups and also non Sinhala Sri Lankan groups to exploit a disagreement that has unnecessarily spilled over into the public's eye due to politics in the military and a very small section of the military in politics.

These groups, particularly those civilians involved who are not insiders or have little inside information can or will not understand the discipline of a professional soldier to take what he wants and to relinquish duty when required sans insubordination.

A professional soldier is not Dutugemunu. The Sri Lanka Army/Military is a modern Army/Military positioned within a democratic society. The professional soldiers serving in it will know when to let go. By asking them to perform a larger role based solely on selfish motives of individuals in the periphery, they may destroy that soldier and even themselves and their reputation.

The Sri Lankan Military and its leaders are now hailed the world over for their victorious feat. Their role in bringing peace to the country through military means will be remembered for decades to come as the ultimate example of a trained military executing its sacred task flawlessly from start to finish. But remember this, dear readers, military action is a means of achieving the end and the end is always political.

DefenceWire, as an impartial site whose work you have witnessed for over 3 years now wish to appeal to our readers to refrain from joining or supporting either 'camps' and to allow the professional soldier and professional politicians to resolve potentially resolvable issues mentioned above.

Thank you

KP Arrest -- UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (defenceAnalyst) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:38:00 +0000

We have received credible information on the arrest of two individuals, one a middle aged man traveling on a non-Sri Lankan passport at an undisclosed location in Bangkok in a joint stint launched by Thai and Sri Lankan authorities. The travel documents and said identity confirms with an alias of LTTE operative Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingham.

The man was carrying travel documents both under his own birth name and under other aliases at the time of arrest. A group of Sri Lankan officials is expected to fly the said two individuals to Sri Lanka shortly. Please await further information as it is made available.

by

DefenceWire

KP Arrest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:41:00 +0000

There was an announcement over local media a short while ago that former LTTE International chief and only remaining LTTE senior Kumaran Pathmanathan has been arrested. We are yet to confirm this arrest. Please await further details.

Thank You

DW

Wanni heroes rewarded

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Brigadier Prasanna de Silva, the illustrious Special Forces officer has been appointed Director General of Joint Training in the soon to be Office of the Chief of Defence Staff headed by 4-star General Sarath Fonseka.

The 47-year old officer could also receive a promotion as a Major General. Another little-known (by the general public) but equally brilliant officer appointed the Director General of Joint Planning and Development is Major General Mahesh Senanayake also of the Special Forces.

Other notable leaders in the Wanni battle like Major General Jagath "Chula" Dias, Major General Kamal Gunaratne and Brigadier Shevendra Silva have also received new postings.

Maj. General Dias was appointed Deputy Ambassador to Germany and was set to embark on that 2-year assignment when he met with an accident resulting in a broken hip. He was traveling alone without an escort after an unofficial trip. Claims by certain media of a conspiracy to assassinate the Maj. General is completely false.

Major General Kamal Gunaratne was appointed by Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasooriya the SF Commander Wanni. He is also the Colonel Commandant of the Special Forces Brigade which functioned independently under General Fonseka until the end of the war. Major General Gunaratne is also to receive a foreign diplomatic assignment while still in service.

Brigadier Shevendra Silva has been appointed Director Operations at Army Headquarters Colombo. These officers will each receive a diplomatic assignment on a rotating basis.

Together these valiant officers will carry forward the farsighted reformations put forward by General Fonseka.

A "Sri Lanka Defence Force"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:28:00 +0000

The newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff, General Sarath Fonseka is preparing massive structural changed to the three forces. He has assembled a team of high caliber officers to a new office to be set-up soon at the former JOC (Joint Operations Command).

The new office appropriately titled Office of the Chief of Defence Staff will oversee, in the coming months, a massive overhauling of the three forces. A Gazette Notification has already been prepared.

The Army, Navy and Air Force of the Sri Lanka Army will become more like the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) where land forces will be combined with air superiority and sea-borne forces will be combined also with air superiority.

Experts and insiders say the boundaries between the Army, Navy and the Air Force could become only superficial under this plan, which, in the long-term will become one massive force capable of operating not unlike the US Marine Expeditionary Force.

LTTE posters inside IDP camps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:24:00 +0000

Mysterious LTTE posters have appeared inside several IDP camps threatening the inhabitants and the Sri Lanka government.

The posters, mainly hand-written on pieces of paper contain the following messages:

"Our National Leader (Thalaivar) is not dead. How can anyone kill him? He is invincible. The Army is lying. Anyone collaborating with the Army will be severely dealt with. The Eelam struggle still continues under our leader."

A careful investigation of the source and origin of these poster messages indicates a huge blunder in the administration of the IDP camps. In some cases, inmates under observation as LTTE suspects have even escaped the camps.

In addition to the civil administration in place at these camps, an Intelligence and Counter-Insurgency/Terrorism function was assigned to the camps due to heavy infiltrations by LTTE cadres.

In doing so, the various IDP camps in Vavuniya, Jaffna and Mannar were divided-up among the various intelligence agencies.

These agencies included the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), The Terrorists Investigations Department, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the police Special Branch etc.

Based on our observations it was evident that the posters were coming up at Non-DMI administered IDP camps. Many outstanding Intelligence Officers we spoke to were somewhat alarmed at the proposition of smoking-out remaining terrorists when so many agencies are in charge.

UN on Sri Lanka: A Comedy of Errors

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:07:00 +0000

These days, talking about Sri Lanka means talking about the Sri Lankan military, its elite politicians and diplomats and…oh yes…The UN. Are we trying to single-out the UN or the “West” here? Not really. The UN is singling its own self out. In fact, the UN looks more ridiculous now than it did when it allowed the Tutsis to be killed in 1994. If you want proof, read the news items in the world press about ‘leaked’ UN reports where the dead Tamil civilians increased from 6,000 to 20,000 almost overnight. In another report, 13,130 civilians had ‘disappeared’ after arriving in the camps.

The UN, certain “Western Governments” and the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora are all saying, pretty much the same thing these days. They just cannot accept the fact that Sri Lanka, comprising of all ethnic groups, have prevailed over racist separatism. But this is a simplified way of looking at things.

The United Nations is primarily a tool to police developing countries—to keep them in line with the “West”. It seems that the morally righteous “West” is trying to make the rest of the world tag its line. There is no evidence to prove otherwise. The UN has a track record of selective interventions. The reasons for not intervening, for example in Rwanda, were because President Bill Clinton thought it inappropriate. So we know very clearly who is behind the current UN ‘actions’ against Sri Lanka.

An intervention by the UN in Rwanda was ‘inappropriate’ in 1994 because the UN, backed by the USA were humiliated in Somalia just before the Rwandan genocide started. The use of the word genocide was forbidden in the description of the violence in Rwanda. What in the world did the failed Somali excursion of the USA have to do with those poor Tutsis? Why were they punished by the same International Community who now screams genocide at the Sri Lankan state for wiping out the LTTE? The question on every Sri Lankan’s mind today is why did they all jump in to save the LTTE when they themselves opposed it and when the entire country of Sri Lanka and the rest of the free thinking world (even Communist China) wanted otherwise? What does China’s naval domination in south Asia, Iran’s generosity and Libya’s friendliness to Lanka have to do with Sri Lanka’s right to decide its national security?

The same groups running the UN from the "Western world" today allow a section of the Tamil Diaspora looters the free and undisturbed use of the word “Genocide” to describe the massacre of terrorists in Sri Lanka. How are these two things similar? Where were the Milibands, Kouchners and Clintons when Tutsi’s were massacred in the thousands for 3 months until the Interahamwe gave up on its own, tired? In fact, UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali refused to even visit Rwanda after the genocide. He was taken, almost by force to a Rwandan church to witness the horror with his own eyes. All he did even then was lie to the survivors that the UN wanted to help those dead Tutsis. Perhaps a Tutsi should have held Navi Pillai’s current position. Then that job would have made some sense.

Now that was a real genocide. Compared to that, what have the Sri Lankan Tamils faced? Large numbers of Tutsi’s were systematically removed from educational institutions in Rwanda. Even the most brilliant ones weren’t spared. In Sri Lanka, Tamil university students come to Colombo and help run the LTTE networks while surviving on government scholarships. Giving birth to a Tutsi child was a crime before and even after 1994. The birth of a Tutsi child was a closely guarded secret. The Tutsi mothers never saw the inside of the local hospital during that entire ordeal. In Sri Lanka, you walk to any hospital, even those in the south; you will see hundreds of ‘minorities’ obtaining free treatment.

No UN documents ‘leaked’ to the press about Rwanda back then. Why do they ‘leak’ now? How and why do these ‘leaks’ occur in the absence of evidence when actual facts about the Rwandan genocide could have been ‘leaked’ handsomely both before and after April 1994?

But the biggest question in our mind is that why do the Diaspora Tamils sitting comfortably abroad perpetuate such hatred when they themselves have nothing to lose or gain from continued violence in the name of separatism? The latest claim was for a Tamil Homeland. Why do Sri Lankan Tamils take this so seriously? Why do Tamils in South India, South Africa, Malaysia (including Prabhakaran’s father and Chelvanayaham), Singapore etc are demanding that the SRI LANKAN TAMILS MUST FIGHT FOR A TAMIL HOMELAND? Why don’t they do it themselves? WHY ONLY THE SRI LANKAN TAMILS, THE POOREST TAMILS ON EARTH, HAVE TO DIE IN THEIR THOUSANDS? Why can’t the Sri Lankan Tamils say NO. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! TO HELL WITH YOUR HATRED! IT HAS BROUGHT US ONLY MISERY AND SHAME. WE CHOOSE TO LIVE, PROSPER AND COEXIST WITH THE SINHALESE. WE HAVE FINALLY EARNED THAT RIGHT!!!

If you look very closely, you will realize that the Tamil Homeland concept seems to be driven by a group of greedy Tamil elites more than lower class Tamils. The latter plays the subservient role of trooper, suicide bomber and child soldier while the rest live in luxury abroad and perpetuate the hatred. But mark these words. The day moderate Tamils start raising their heads AGAIN isn’t far away. This is all thanks to whom? Who else but the Sinhalese of course! The days of the Tamil racist is numbered in Sri Lanka.

dA

Poddu calls from beyond the grave?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Some of DefenceWire's readers have asked us again about the fate of Poddu Amman.

The reason for this new-found doubt is due to newspaper (local and foreign) articles indicating a) Poddu's body has not been recovered b) Army was still searching for his remains, c) he may have escaped and d) he is now in SLA custody and revealing identities of remaining LTTE spies.

While the first two points, that his body was never found and that Army is searching for it has some truth in it, the latter points are completely false.

Poddu's body has not been recovered and the Army, like they are supposed to, are searching for ALL that is LTTE. If Poddu's remains were indeed recovered, they would now be beyond any form of recognition.

Poddu's death is a near certainty. Latest eyewitness reports say he was alive on 17th evening-18th dawn. Poddu was subsequently trapped inside the box in Vellamullaivaikkaal when at dawn on 18th May 2009, the Special Forces backed by heavy armour moved in.

The remains of a large number of LTTE cadres was in pieces after the small patch of land was decimated by heavy fire soon after the escape of the 80,500 odd civilians.

A cadre who surrendered to the Army had earlier mentioned that Poddu was killed by a shell in a direct hit and that his remains were buried in an unmarked grave. What is evident, beyond reasonable doubt is that Poddu never escaped the battlefield alive.

The other rumours that Poddu's status as a MIC captive and tipping off authorities about LTTE spies in the Army etc is inaccurate. Many of these stories point to a Lieutenant Colonel from the Army and one random report pointed to the capture of an electronic goods salesman in Colombo.

The arrest of the Lieutenant Colonel was forthcoming due to a number of tip-offs. The officer, formerly of the Special Forces (late 90s), was part of a unit that hunted down Sinhalese youth during the time of the second JVP uprising. He was also attached to Military Intelligence at that time.

Fresh doubts about the man arose in 2006-7 and now, with much less of a burden to fight a war, the Army has time to purge its rank and file of similar parasites as it had done continuously over the last half a decade or so.

This, again has nothing to do with Poddu Amman. In any event, Poddu Amman would not have known of these spies as there were other much junior cadres operating as their handlers.

A loud-mouth bungling

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:56:00 +0000

A clever plan by MIC to finish-off the remaining LTTE cadres under Ram and Uma Ram in the East was bungled by an information leak by a few callous officers and the local media.

However, unknown to the media, a large number of cadres had already surrendered, some had deserted while others were mysteriously gunned down (including the 11 killed yesterday).

But unfortunately, following the wide publicity given to the killing of 11 cadres, there now appears little chance of the remaining 30 odd cadres surrendering to the Army as was planned.

LTTE Leader for the East and its only surviving leader on Sri Lankan soil Ram, now afraid to answer messages from the Army, had instead contacted Karuna Amman and expressed a desire to surrender if Karuna could guarantee his safety. It is yet unclear as to whether Ram and his team would surrenderunder the present context.

Ram, in his conversation with Karuna Amman had claimed Kumaran Pathmanathan, the corrupt and accidental heir to the LTTE's throne had requested him to fight on saying he would send weapons and equipment from abroad.

All quiet on the battlefront

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Today was a day of closure in the LTTE's violent saga. However, some interesting developments can be expected within the next day or two from the Eastern Province as Ram and Umaram and their teams are traced down.

The two leaders moved their families to the north soon after their split with Karuna in 2004. Their fate may be revealed in due course as more bodies are recovered from the battlefield.

As reported by the media, LTTE's former police and 'political wing' chief and chief spokesman Nadesan, his family, Pulidevan and his family and Ramesh and his family have all died and their bodies discovered by the Special Forces.

There were rumours that the two leaders had gone down on their knees and begged the Special Forces at which point they assumed the Special Forces to smile and let them go.

Rumours are that Prabhakaran's entire family was dead. These rumours indicate that even Prabha's daughter, Duharga was there at the scene. Until otherwise indicated by the government, at this moment in particular, their bodies are nowhere to be found.

Other leaders like Lawrence, Karikalan, Ilanthirayan, Papa, Sempian etc are also dead. Their bodies might also be discovered in due course.

The chief of the LTTE's Mine-laying unit and a chief innovator of the Jhonny Mine and other deadly IEDs has died having lost both his legs in a mysterious blast. The LTTE's chief of smuggling with India and the deputy of the international procurement units (not Castro) have also died.

Meanwhile the last batch of the 80,500 civilians rescued after the final operation on the 15th were dispatched to Vavuniya today. With this the total number of civilians rescued is a staggering 350,000.

Prabha's body found but Poddu's corpse no show

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:08:00 +0000

The Sri Lanka Army's 53 Division today recovered the remains of LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The body was in tact, except for a part of the head and skull missing/blown off. Images show the corpse being inspected by the 58 Division Commander at Nanthikadal.

Although the battle on the banks of Nanthikadal lagoon took place on 18th dawn, the remains were largely identifiable, probably due to the effects of the sea. The remains of Soosei's corpse have also been recovered.

The remains of Poddu Amman, the mastermind of the LTTE, has not yet been recovered. We can only predict that his and the remains of a few other senior leaders will be recovered in the same way in due course.

Until this mornings recovery, Prabhakaran's fate was unclear and evidence inconclusive. The estimate given by the Army was that his remains should be found from either the boxed-in area now cleared, the Nanthikadal lagoon or from the destroyed Army ambulance.

It is only fitting that the recovery of Prabhakaran's mortal remains were discovered after President Rajapakse's speech this morning, which was made after Army Commander Sarath Fonseka's confirmation that terrorism has been wiped out.

It was obvious from President Rajapakse's statement prior to departing Jordan that he was indeed returning to a country which was already free of terrorism.

The last stand of the cowards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Prabhakaran's death is established primarily through circumstantial evidence. The remains of an individual with very similar physical structure to Prabhakaran has been discovered and tests are being performed to establish his identity beyond reasonable doubt.

The Army needs no testing to establish the LTTE leader's death. Certain sections of the media have misreported the circumstances surrounding Prabha's death. We wish to correct these records with the following account in chronological order with certain sections left-out for obvious reasons.

Prabhakaran's final hours

Only 3 LTTE leaders, other than Prabhakaran and his wife, knew of his whereabouts. Other than his son Charles Anthony, the only other LTTE leaders who knew where he was was Poddu Ammaan, the Intelligence Chief and the head of the LTTE's Medical Unit, Reagan.

The latter was taken in and detained for days until Military Intelligence got hold of him. Until then Regan had pretended he did not know Prabhakaran's whereabouts. Thanks to Reagan's information, MI officers had clearly identified Prabhakaran's lair by 16th evening/17th dawn.

They uncovered an elaborate plan by Prabhakaran and gang to breach the 53 FDL. The plan was to cross the lagoon to Mullaitivu-Weli Oya Jungles, from there to reach the Eastern Province (Batticaloa/Ampara) via Trincomalee, where 'Colonel' Ram's team was waiting.

Within hours of this warning, on 17th May at dawn, Tigers had started their final operation. A daring sea borne operation was launched. All Army Divisions, forewarned, reacted swiftly but the Tigers managed to breach the FDL of the 53 Division at its weakest and take-out several bunkers killing 15 SLA. They also seized an Army Ambulance.

Moments later, the 53 Division retaliated. A hail of RPG HEAT/Thermobaric rockets were fired. Around 200 LTTE cadres had died in the attack. 30 bodies were reduced to ashes. Limbs of the LTTE's best were scattered all over the place. The captured ambulance was also hit in the melee and burnt swiftly.

It was upon investigating the ambulance that 3 bodies, one of which resembled Prabhakaran's body structure was discovered. The body was blackened and beyond facial/physical recognition. But the Army knew it may very well be Prabhakaran. There was no other way for him to escape.

Prabhakaran should have been killed either in the box-in by the Special Forces, the retaliation by the 53 or he should have died injured somewhere along the lagoon. The closest to his remains have been found only inside the charred ambulance.

One of the hardcore cadres captured alive in the attack claimed Prabhakaran was shot and injured in the fight. But he had heard it from an eyewitness, another hardcore cadre who was killed.

The charred bodies, including the one believed to be Prabhakaran were captured by the 53 Division, but were taken away by another Division.

Some 400 bodies were captured by the Army. 1,2, and 5 Special Forces led the clearing operation. The remains may include, in future, missing leaders from the list publicized by the government such as Lawrence, Karikalan, Papa, Ilanthirayan etc.

The remains of top leaders like Poddu, Bhanu and Soosei were identified. Soosei was fighting till 17th evening until the Special Forces rid him of his mysery once and for all. He and Swarnam were the last brave LTTE leaders who held their ground and fought while others were trying to flee the scene.

The fate of the 'missing' tiger leaders from the publicized government list will be 'filled' in due course!

Prabhakaran no more. Others dead too.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:35:00 +0000

The Sri Lanka Army has recovered, what appears to be the remains of LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the bodies of his key aides. The remains of 250 LTTE leaders and their bodyguards have been recovered.

We can now confirm that the remains are indeed of Prabhakaran and his key leaders. The exact details of their demise will be discussed in time.

As we reported yesterday, the Army's 1 and 2 Special Forces, incidentally the two Special Forces Regiments who fought to regain Mullaitivu Base over a decade ago and the Commando Regiment are discovering the remains 'in order of importance' with assistance provided by the MIC.

Breaking News: Prabhakaran missing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Prabhakaran and his clan are nowehere to be found. Clearing operations started in an area 200m x 200m by the Special Forces. If Prabhakaran is hiding in this last uncleared patch or his remains are in the area, they would be found.

Some surrendered LTTE leaders say Prabhakaran had escaped while others said he was still there when they left the area. At the time of writing, Prabha and his cohort's whereabouts or fate was still unclear.

There was however a strong suspicion that Prabhakaran, Poddu, Kabil Ammaan, Soosei, Bhanu, Lakshman, Lawrence, Jeyam, Velavan and Rathna Master etc have either escaped by sea or broken free and made a dash towards the Mullaitivu-Weli Oya Jungles.

The LTTE launched a massive attack near Nanthikadal Lagoon today. The area was under the control of the 53 Division. The line was breached and some 15 SLA were killed while 70 Tigers were aso killed in fierce fighting. If Prabha escaped in this attack, it can then be assumed that he is inside the Mullaitivu-Weli Oya Jungles.

The other possibility is the sea route. Reliable sources told DefenceWire that even Soosei's family was 'arrested' in the high seas, having been detected late. If Prabha and clan indeed escaped and took this route, he would have left after this escape attempt took place.

Among the high-profile Tigers confirmed dead was Swarnam, the leader from Trincomalee, a loyal aid of Prabhakaran who was killed in retaliatory artillery fire. Sea Tiger Leader Chelian has surrendered to SLA this morning.

The head of Prabhakaran's Sniper Team, the head of the Black Tigers training program and dead female leader Vithusha's 2IC had also surrendered, bringing the total to around 2000 LTTE cadres surrendered.

Prabha to commit suicide

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:49:00 +0000

Prabhakaran and a few of his cohorts are now completely surrounded and are expected to commit suicide within the next 24hrs, thus ending a 30 year-old bloody conflict once and for all.

There is no heavy fighting at this moment as regular troops engage in clearing operations removing civilians from the area. The LTTE has given up the fight!

President Mahinda Rajapakse is expected to make a speech on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning to declare the victory. He is expected to land tomorrow morning.

Middle-level LTTE leaders are surrendering in large numbers. High profile leaders like Poddu, Soosei, Bhanu, Rathnam etc are still alive with their leader and have surrounded themselves with several hundred civilians. They are expected to blow themselves up. The Army expects the civilians to escape before this suicide.

Among those who surrendered today was the wife of LTTE Political Wing Leader Thamil Selvan. She was caught with her new lover while escaping from the LTTE.

The Army has now withdrawn the cream of its fighting units. Yesterday's operation to rescue civilians was conducted primarily by fresh Special Forces recruits from 4 SF who drew a cable and inflated tyre tubes to save trapped civilians crossing the lagoon/sea.

The 59, for example, is operating with a batallion of 4SF but primarily with 1 Mechanized Infantry with two platoons from 3 Mechanized Infantry in the reserve. Since what is left now is a clearing operation, the going is easy for them.

Prabha's last night

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:14:00 +0000

By the time this report is being compiled, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are preparing for its last attack. A meeting was called a few hours ago by Soosei who literally handed-over his family to the Navy (appears to the public as a capture by the Navy) calling on Black Sea Tigers to launch a series of attacks targeting the 58 and the 59 Divisions.

The two Divisions are expected to link-up shortly thus sealing shut the coastal zone and completely land locking the Tigers. The 59 Division faced stiff resistance as they approached the area closest to Prabhakaran's known location.

Tigers shifted much of its attack formations towards the 59, making it increasingly clear that Prabhakaran was still in this suspected location. They even launched a series of sea borne suicide attacks completely decimating, in one occasion, two bunkers killing 15 soldiers.

The Tigers then attempted to repeat the attack but were completely massacred by the 59. This fierce fighting and tactical advantage gained by the 58 allowed the Division to move forward, thus creating the grounds for the link-up, which should take place tonight or at dawn tomorrow.

The 58 Division's 2 Commando Regiment and the Special Forces battalion leading the 59 Division will face much of the brunt of any Sea Tiger attacks tonight or tomorrow. A SF battalion is stationed as a reserve for the 58 as well.

All fighting formations are eager to finish this battle by tomorrow evening at the latest!

Civilians

The LTTE has lost total control over the civilians. Thousands are expected to flee within the next 24 hours to government controlled areas.

A total of 11,000 civilians have now reached the government's side by this evening. 5000 reached Vavuniya yesterday. Another 6000 have just reached government areas. Another 50,000 still remain.

The LTTE has told these civilians to give then 24hrs, until after the 16th when they except an Indian intervention, which will not be coming.

Prabhakaran

We have received HIGHLY credible reports that the SLA has located the whereabouts of Prabhakaran. This vital piece of information was received from an LTTE 'Doctor' named Susiran who visited Prabhakaran on the 10th to treat Sithamparathasan, the head of the Ratha Regiment and LTTE Leader V. Pripaharan's chief close protection officer who was injured in the Ananthapuram Box-in by the Special Forces and Commandos.

The 152 LTTE hardcore cadres who some say surrendered to the Army have subsequently 'vanished'. The LTTE 'Doctor' was also from the Ratha Regiment. He served as Prabhakaran's "Escort Leader" for 3 years before leaving the unit for medical training.

There is a very high likelihood that Prabhakaran might not live to see dusk over Mullaitivu coast on Sunday!

Mysterious explosions

3 recent explosions were heard during the last week. 2 were weapons dumps hit by SLA artillery. One remains unknown, but is also thought to be a weapons dump blasted by the Tigers themselves.

The Tigers have also burnt vehicles, a large quantity of valuable documents, computers etc.

Rats from the sinking ship

Like rats from a sinking ship, senior, junior and greenhorn cadres as well as family members of the Tigers who have cold feet have started running towards the Army for ultimate safety having lost all confidence in their leader and cause.

In addition to the much publicized 'capture' of Soosei's family, an LTTE ship captain has also 'surrendered'. This individual has revealed vital information regarding the LTTE's shipping fleet. The individual's own ship had been blown-up by the Navy in 2005.

Among others who surrendered are 3 LTTE high-profile singers, including Shanthan who used to sing praise for Prabhakaran, Black Tigers etc at various events, for videos etc.