Encircled and in the throes of a crushing defeat, Tiger guerrillas have further restricted the movement of civilians as their terrain in the no fire zone dwindled from a 12 Km stretch to just 10 Km over the past few days.
Heavy fighting erupted on Friday in Velayanmadam and Ampalavanpokkanai, areas in the 'no fire zone'.
Troops that encircled the guerrillas in an area less than 10 square kilometres, are now closing in on Velayanmadam. The move came as most of the civilians were seen moving closer to beach areas some of them taking shelter in abandoned fishing boats and others under umbrellas to avoid the scorching sun.
Unlike the previous influx of civilians who escaped LTTE clutches in large groups, civilians are now fleeing in smaller numbers compared to the first three days, where over 109,000 fled the area.
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| On a dusty road to freedom: A family walks into government-controlled area with their few belongings packed into one bag |
The military quoted civilians coming out of the area as saying the LTTE has moved the civilians to an isolated area, surrounded by several guerrillas, in the no fire zone. Now many of the civilians are not in a position to flee as they are being watched closely by LTTE cadres, which explains the sudden drop in the number of civilians fleeing into military-controlled areas.
On Friday, around 9 a.m. troops gunned down two female Tiger guerillas who had unsuccessfully pursued a group of civilians who managed to escape the no-fire zone in the area of Velayanmadam. The civilians were eventually brought to safety despite more guerillas firing at the troops who were trying to bring the civilians into safer ground.
By last Thursday and Friday, Tiger guerrillas who had lost almost one third of the civilian populated terrain of the no fire zone to advancing troops of the 58 division, had deployed several waves of guerillas to infiltrate Puthumatallan and the east of Puthukkudiyirippu to cause collateral damage to troops to hamper their operations.
On Thursday, the LTTE deployed two such waves east of Puthukkudiyirippu, both in the morning and the evening. Both attacks were thwarted and a large number of guerillas killed, according to the military.
In the fighting on Wednesday and Thursday at least 15 soldiers were killed.
This week, history was created by troops attached to the 58 division that played a significant role in what has been dubbed as the "world's largest civilian hostage rescue operation".
The main objective of the troops was to neutralize terrorist threats in the no fire zone and make a safe passage for the large influx of civilians who were entrapped in the LTTE controlled no fire zone area.
Last Sunday, the 58 Division which had been operating just 300 metres away from the no fire zone were armed with vital ground intelligence and visuals of aerial surveillance that were previously taken by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) of the Sri Lanka Air Force, to carry out one of the greatest military operations in the country's history.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 58 Division, Brigadier Shavindra Silva handpicked the 9th Gemunu Watch battalion, 8th Gajaba regiment and the 11th Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion which were backed by the 2nd Commando regiment which came under the command of Colonel Ralph Nugera and the 1st Special Forces regiment under the command of Colonel Athula Kodippili for the rescue operation.
This unit was divided into several companies that were given designated tasks to carry out. Their first objective was to breakthrough the LTTE's final earth bund, a 3 km stretch from Puthumatallan to Ampalavanpokkanai where thousands of civilians were trapped by the LTTE.
Three companies each consisting eight to twelve soldiers from the 2nd Commando regiment were given the task to reach the northern edge of the earth bund along with the 8th Gajaba regiment, while the 1st Special Forces regiment were given the task to take the 11th Sri Lanka Light Infantry troops to the southern edge of the earth bund in Ampalavanpokkanai. The 9th Gemunu watch was tasked with the objective of advancing and clearing a passage for civilians to move out.
It was 11.40 in the night when the selected unit of soldiers started their operation deep into enemy lines. The troops after crossing the lagoon area finally reached the earth bund.
Soon after reaching the heavily fortified earth bund, troops launched an attack on the guerrilla positions. The guerillas started firing at the troops from their guard points on the earth bund. A moonless Sunday night was an added advantage for the troops who were equipped with night vision goggles which the Tigers manning guard points lacked.
However, the fighting lasted for several hours as the LTTE displayed stiff resistance from two sentry points from where they used pedal guns and mortars to direct fire at the troops. Troops also faced stiff resistance from Tigers who fired heavy artillery from the coastal line of the no fire zone.
Eventually the 58 division deployed more troops to consolidate their positions as they overran LTTE defences. As the ground battle continued and the LTTE pushed back, troops were engaged in clearing the area of anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices that were placed by the LTTE to prevent troops from entering the locality and civilians fleeing.
While the operations were going on a separate group of soldiers were involved in giving cover to thousands of civilians crossing from the LTTE controlled area to the military held terrain.
The 58 Division later made arrangements to check every civilian arriving at the military controlled areas as Tiger suicide cadres could have infiltrated with civilians. As the rescue operation in the no fire zone went on to the next day, three female Tiger suicide bombers who disguised themselves as civilians blew themselves resulting in 17 civilians including children being killed. Over 200 civilians were injured in the blast. The critically injured were eventually airlifted.
As pandemonium broke out in the no fire zone, entrapped civilians were even trying to flee the area by sea to reach the 55 Division controlled area north of Puthumatallan. On the first day over 41,000 civilians reached the military controlled areas.
The second phase of the operation was launched on Monday night, with the objective to separate the safe zone from Puthumatallan and link it with the coastal front. By Tuesday evening troops managed to consolidate their positions and establish a link with the coast. During the second day over 35,000 civilians crossed over.
During the third phase of the operation, troops managed to link up with the 55 division and succeeded in neutralizing enemy threat posed to the recently captured area.
By Wednesday evening, nearly 100,000 civilians arrived in the government controlled area. An estimated 20,000 civilians are still trapped in the LTTE controlled locality of the no fire zone, according to the military.
It has now come to light that the success of this operation was mainly due to valuable ground intelligence that was fed by troops of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP).
The said operation had been planned weeks ahead with intelligence operatives attached to the army infiltrating the LTTE no fire zone disguised as civilians.
Unlike worldwide daring rescue operations such as Eagle Claw, launched to rescue the US hostages in Tehran in April 1980; the De Punt train hijacking in Holland in May-June 1977; the Munich Olympics Massacre in West Germany in September 1972; Egypt Air Flight 648 at Malta in November 1978; and Lufthansa Flight 181, Mogadishu, Somalia in October 1977, the number of civilians involved in this hostage situation was far greater.
Amongst the civilians who escaped were LTTE media spokesman Daya Master and former LTTE political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan’s translator George Master. They were identified by a civilian informant who immediately notified a soldier at Puthumatallan.
The duo was immediately taken into custody for interrogation and later brought to Colombo for further interrogation.
As clearing operations continue, troops are preparing for their next phase of the operation, to neutralize the LTTE threat in Vellamullivaikal south where an estimated 20,000 civilians are believed to be trapped.
The forthcoming days will play a major part in how events might unfold during this final standoff. |
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