Security has been stepped up in villages in the southern part of Ampara district, after 13 LTTE cadres, including three female fighters, were killed on Friday in a confrontation with the Special Task Force (STF) in the jungles of Lahugala, in the Ampara district.
The STF operation, which had been mapped out weeks in advance, was launched after residents informed the authorities about a suspected LTTE presence in the area.
STF personnel had spent several days in a 14-kilometre stretch of jungle before confronting the LTTE cadres.
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| STF Commander DIG K.M.L. Sarathchandra and SSP Moneragala Amarasiri Senaratne along with other STF and police personnel |
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| LTTE ammunition and communication equipment recovered following search operations |
Among those killed in Friday’s ambush were three female Tigers and a senior LTTE leader identified as Kandhia Sarawanandam alias Paramanandam Master, an explosives expert who is believed to have led several attacks on villages in Ampara.
Twelve T-56 assault riffles and one M-16 were recovered following a search in the area.
In January this year the STF launched a major operation – codenamed “Niyathai Jaya”, or Victory Assured (named after the STF motto), that saw the capture of 17 LTTE bases in the Thoppigala and Kanjikudichchiaru areas.
Following the loss of these key bases, groups of LTTE cadres slipped into the jungles in the southern Ampara district.
A senior STF officer was quoted as saying that this was the STF’s most successful operation in the Siyambalanduwa and Lahugala areas of Ampara in a long time.
According to sources, villagers lit firecrackers as the bodies of the LTTE cadres were brought out of the jungle.
Moneragala district magistrate Chinthaka Srinath Gunasekera conducted an inquiry into the deaths of the LTTE cadres at the Moneragala district hospital.
The Sunday Times learns that the STF is now focusing on other parts of the Amapara district, where more pockets of LTTE cadres are said to be operating.
“We have received intelligence of LTTE movements in these areas,” said an STF source who asked not to be named. “These LTTE cadres are believed to be responsible for several attacks on villages in the area. Our staff are assessing the situation and working on an action plan. Meanwhile, we have beefed up security in these villages,” he said.
The villages include Siyambalanduwa, Lahugala, Hulannuge, Bakmitiyawa, Pannalgama, Panama and Manthottama, in Ampara. |
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