The Sunday Times News - All quiet in Muhamalai

After nearly a month of fighting between the army and Tiger guerrillas around the Muhamalai area in Jaffna, the army backed by air cover has been able to push the guerrillas back, but the threat over the area still prevails.

The heavy fighting between the two sides has ceased to some extent but the sporadic attacks continued from the second defence line of the guerrillas .

As troops in a limited offensive last weekend moved into LTTE controlled areas amidst heavy resistance they saw trenches that had been dug by the LTTE.

The fighting which has resulted in the closure of the A 9 road – the vital link for civilians between the Jaffna peninsula and the south--remains cut off since August 11, leaving behind an estimated 10,000 civilians stranded between the south and the north.

The Sunday Times learns that the A9 will not been opened for the time being as the threat from the guerrillas was still real. The LTTE would also suffer financial losses as they would not be in a position to collect taxes on vehicles entering the uncleared areas.

There are reports that the guerrillas and its front organizations have stepped up pressure to get the road opened by organizing protest campaigns in the Jaffna peninsula.

The closure of the road has also trapped more than 2,000 people in Vavuniya town as they were unable to move up to Jaffna through Muhamalai, though they were allowed to enter the LTTE-controlled Wanni. On Friday, the people appealed to Vavuniya’s Government Agent to give them passage by sea if the road could not be opened immediately.

The protests over the closure of A9, had even spread to Puttalam where a group of Muslims demanded that the government make arrangements to transport some 500 people stranded in Jaffna. They said residents from Puttalam who had gone to Jaffna for business and to visit their friends and relatives were stranded.

The answers to the demands made by the civilians will remain as to how soon the government is able to provide effective transport to the civilians between Jaffna and the south or the decision on reopening the A – 9 Road.

At least four passages have been made by ships to Trincomalee transporting more than 1,000 passengers from Jaffna, but the demand appears to be higher for the civilians who were used to move across the A – 9 Road.

On Thursday the Navy vessel Shakthi transported 700 civilians including 86 foreign passport holders from Kankasanthurai to Trinco.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission too has expressed concern over the humanitarian situation that has arisen as a result of the closure of the A-9 route. The SLMM has held talks with both the government and the LTTE to find a way to overcome the obstacles to opening this route but there has been no breakthrough so far.

The crucial point whether the Muhamalai check point could be opened immediately or will remain closed for several weeks or months will depend on the strategy of the military and their efforts to neutralize guerrilla gun positions in the surrounding areas, but would also be important to maintain the link of civilians.

The army lost at least 28 soldiers and more than 120 others were injured while an estimated 115 guerrillas were killed in last week’s offensive indicating that the fighting was heavy in the area

Yesterday, troops were consolidating their defences in Muhamalai. They recovered 12 T-56 weapons in clearing up operations in the area, the military said.

Meanwhile, in the East, there were reports of sporadic violence with a Navy sailor on picketing duty being abducted and killed by the LTTE in Trincomalee on Friday.

The body of the sailor was found dumped in an abandoned well at Linganagar , the military said.

In Mutur, on information by the public, Police yesterday morning recovered a claymore mine, 102 metres of wire and a detonator hidden in a paddy field near a refugee camp.

One soldier was also killed in Kurumankadu in Vavuniya yesterday when LTTE cadres lobbed a grenade at a guard point. Two soliders were injured in this attack.