After days of fierce fighting, the Sri Lanka Army infantry units have moved into Paranthan. Remaining LTTE resistance in the area was crushed in a pre dawn offensive spearheaded by commando units of the 2 commando regiment and special infantry (SI) formations of the 58 division. As of this moment, the entire Paranthan junction and the nearby area is under the complete control of the army.
Paranthan is perhaps the most strategically important area captured by the army during recent times. LTTE’s land based supply routes from their stronghold in Mullaithiv to Elephant pass, Kilali, Nagarkovil and Muhamalai have now been effectively cut off. This also opens another front for the army to advance on Kilinochchi – Paranthan is located around 4km north of the besiged town.
Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Air Force has been flying several aerial sorties per day to aid the advancing ground forces. Last evening, before SLA’s final push for Paranthan was made, SLAF jets and gunships devastated LTTE positions south and east of Paranthan junction in 4 different bombing raids. Last week however, an SLAF Mi-24 helicopter gunship suffered damage due to .50 caliber gunfire (aka five-zero) while providing close air support for advancing SLA troops in Mulliaweli, Mullaithiv. The gunship continued to destroy LTTE bunkers amidst cheers from SLA units on the ground. It completely destroyed part of the LTTE defence line before the pilot had to return to base due to damages caused to the rotor and hull. Although the gunship was hit by close to twenty 0.50 cal rounds, it’s in repairable condition.
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ReplyDeletewell done guys
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update DN.
ReplyDeleteParanthan is perhaps the most strategically important area captured by the army during recent times. LTTE’s land based supply routes from their stronghold in Mullaithiv to Elephant pass, Kilali, Nagarkovil and Muhamalai have now been effectively cut off.
SLA needs to capture Kulairetam to completely cut off EPS right?
Until then LTTE has a minor road from EPS to A35, despite the A9 blockade at Paranthan?
DoDo,
ReplyDeleteYes they have but the main msr has now been cut off.
Mi24 is a work horse.... it can take some beating!!!
ReplyDeletethanks for the update DN.
ReplyDeleteThree successive air raids targeting LTTE positions
ReplyDeleteDefence.lk
No let up. Relentless assault!
As predicted, all Peelamists have well and truly crawled back in to their dung holes, as quickly as they came:))
Pawaaaaaaaam!
Apei Gona Apita Hondaaaaa....LOL!
SLAF jets and gunships devastated LTTE positions south and east of Paranthan....
ReplyDeleteThe way to go...
A Lethal combination....
:)
Keep it up!!!
SLAF way to go..thats the way..corner them..then blast them....yes a very good combination...an SLAF attack before the army moves in..
ReplyDeleteDN-
ReplyDeleteThanks for the latest update.
Long live our brave hearts.
Related to the damaged Mi-24, howlong will it take to back in action?
Happy New Year Folks
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to start the year with; Paranthan and Iranamadu gone; the rest will be subjected to domino effect of our heroic forces.
Happy New Year to you all !
ReplyDeleteIranamadu Juction also captured by SLA ....
I hope this year will be the last year for Sakkili....
The Mi-24 is known as the "Crocodile" for good reason. It is known to take heavy damage and yet maintain airworthiness. It proved its might in the Soviet-Afghan war till the Afghans acquired Manpads and SAMS from the US.
ReplyDeleteupdated map
ReplyDeletehttp://www.army.lk/maps/map1.gif
Tigers display weapons seized in Saturday's fighting in Mullaiththeevu~ Tamilnet
ReplyDeleteunder that heading lies Photos of some weapons. Well just see where they have kept them. School Desks are visible on the Background as well.....
If this place was attacked...
Think what will be the Headline in Tamilnet...
beyond Paranthan ?
ReplyDeleteKusan Perera: Journalist and activist...
ReplyDeleteActivist? doing what?
An activist on LTTE payroll.
[beyond Paranthan ?
ReplyDelete]
No... we are going to sit down with a bunch of 'award winning' barbarians and make a deal.
Or else... KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Guys
ReplyDeletemoda (mano)mahen has written nice article there please visit
http://ellalanforce.blogspot.com/2009/01/iranamadu-withdrawal.html
Great work by our heroic forces.
ReplyDeleteThis does cut out MSR between EP and kili.
But still there are few more routes LTTE can use if they want.As I have pointed out earlier, it would be really nice to see some action on one of these routes lying inside Chundikkum sanctuary. might be good hunting grounds for our LRRP units in coming month or so.
There is a saying `Know Thy Enemy'. Ameicans in Vietnam did not know their enemy and we all know what happened. I do hope SL forces know LTTE and their leader Mr P quite well. The forces must not let up and now is the time to deliver the knock out blow. Mr P is a military master-mind and a cunning leader and has accounted for both Rajiv Gandhi and Premadasa. Mr P and his merry men would be at their most dangeous at this stage.
ReplyDeleteHD
ReplyDeleteYou need to stop suffering the well debunked myth at least now.
The only reason the LTTE was effective against SL forces were due to a combination of reasons, primarily the lack of a political will to conduct a war as it should be done. Those days are over and the military campaign is professionally conducted today.
That's just the Mi24 in action.
ReplyDeleteThe Russians wanted to build a reputation for their demonic weapon the Ka50 Alligator in SL sometime ago. Now that's a piece of hardware which may scare sht out of anyone.
This Kusal Perera guy has a blog.
ReplyDeleteSome body needs to answer him comprehensively.
http://kusalperera.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyO1tkQcL_M&feature=related
ReplyDeleteWell said, HD...
Try this in Google.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=Kusal+Perera+journalist&start=10&sa=N
Troops advance from all directions:
ReplyDeleteFall of Kilinochchi imminent
Iranamadu captured
Fleeing Tigers cornered
Ranil WIJAYAPALA
The fall of Kilinochchi is imminent within the next 48 hours as Security Forces have already entered the Kilinochchi town from the South, West and North of Kilinochchi, Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka told the Daily News yesterday.
The Security Forces engaged in the Vanni liberation operations speeded up their advance towards the de-facto Tiger capital Kilinochchi from all fronts from the South, West and North after Task Force -I troops completely captured and consolidated their positions in strategically important Paranthan junction by yesterday morning.
He said the Task Force I or the 58 Division under the command Brigadier Shavendra Silva immediately after consolidating their position in Paranthan started their advance towards Kilinochchi from the East and West of Kilinochchi
“The Task Force I troops are operating just one kilometres short of Kilinochchi railway station”, the Army Commander added.
Troops attached to 10 Gajaba Regiment under the Command of Major Udaowita and 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel Kithsiri Ekanayake are advancing towards Kilinochchi from the East of A -9 road whilst troops attached to 12 Gajaba Regiment under the command of Major Saliya Amunugama and 6 Gemunu Watch battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel Kamal Pinnawala are advancing towards Kilinochchi town from the West of A-9 road.
Meanwhile, troops attached to 57 Division also advanced towards the heart of Kilinochchi from the South and West directions.
The 574 Brigade under the command of Lt. Colonel Senaka Wijesuriya fully captured the strategically important Iranamadu junction in the South of Kilinochchi opening another gateway to Kilinochchi. “They have advanced beyond the Iranamadu junction and are fast advancing towards the heart of Kilinochchi”, the Army Commander added.
As troops advancing towards Kilinochchi from all fronts, troops observed the way LTTE cadres are fleeing from the area loading their stuff in vehicles.
The 572 Brigade under the command of Colonel Dhammika Jayasundera and 571 Brigade under the command of Lt. Colonel Harendra Ranasinghe are advancing towards the centre of Kilinochchi from the West and South West direction and are operating closer to the A-9 road
“There are signs that the LTTE will flee from Kilinochchi as troops advance towards the heart of Kilinochchi.
But troops will have to engage in fierce battles in areas such as Ramanathanpuram in the east of Kilinochchi”, the Army Commander added.
As of yesterday they have completed more than 60 per cent of their Kilincochchi mission giving early signs of fall of Kilinochchi within a days period as the troops are aggressively advancing towards the heart of Kilinochchi in all fronts without leaving any room for the LTTE to operate there. The only option now available for the LTTE is to flee towards the jungle patches in Puthukuduiruppu and Vishvamadu in the East of Iranamadu tank but will be once again cornered in this jungle terrain as 59 Division troops are advancing towards Puthukuduiruppu from the West of Mullaitivu after their consolidated their positions in the Mulliyawali village.
Fierce battles erupted in the West of Mulliyavali as troops closed in on to the Tiger airstrip there.
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090101_01
ReplyDeletepics from the front...
The Bendy Road towards Freedom - at Long Last
ReplyDeleteAgainst all odds, in the midst of mudslinging, false accusations and deliberate moves to keep the morale low, the heroic armed forces are about to deal the mortal blow, not only to the inflated ego of Prabhakaran, the terror-chief, but also to his henchmen on clandestine pay-roll in various forms on a global scale, ranging from heading questionable NGO’s to writing columns after columns pretending to be conscientious journalists to portray the invincibility of the murderous organization.
Parasitic elements that had the overwhelming allegiance – at times, bordering on spirituality - to the ruthless outfit used the impotent political leadership for seasonal manipulation to such a point that an illusive political solution - without the slightest clue as to what it really was that came and went at regular intervals – was portrayed as the only solution, while completely eclipsing the reality of a military solution.
By doing so, they cashed in on one of the basic human weaknesses – the vulnerability to be subjected to parroting after a long concerted exposure. The public, who were of the view that a solution would come about after the annihilation of the brutes, slowly began to accept the political candy without knowing how it was going to sort out this menace that plagued them for three decades; it turned out to be a bitter pill all the time. However, all thought in their hearts, the peace overtures are just taking the armed forces in particular and the country in general, for a ride. And it was the case all along.
All the past presidents of the country, apart from the present one, had this inexplicable misplaced fear of generals becoming too popular to challenge them. The fate of General Kobbekaduwa and Janaka Perera were two cases in point – one got killed in mysterious circumstances and the other was forced to retire. Since the chief executives had the misgivings, understandably, everyone downwards got cold feet: there were deliberate attempt to restrict the resources, funding etc. In short, the soldiers were forced to fight with what they had, not with what they should have.
Turning matters from bad to worse, their next priority was to do everything to stay in power by hook or crook. Winning the war became a secondary issue – until one of them was blown up, of course.
When one of their own became a victim, a few bombing runs were ordered without a slight intelligence gathering or the knowledge of a target, only to kill scores of Tamil civilians who happened to be the unfortunate place at the wrong time. Then came the headlines in the state-run media – to brag about the new-found adventurism. Short-sighted policy makers and ‘yes-men’ did not have the brains to foresee the damage in the long run – alienating the peace loving Tamil People.
All in all, the strategies adopted by all the past regimes were half-baked: the war was treated like addressing a little inconvenience. Their motives were questionable.
The breakthrough came with the adoption of the policy – giving people responsibilities in their sphere of expertise with the cast iron guarantee that the political establishment would stand by their acts carried out in good faith and with the right motive.
As a result of this, we got three excellent commanders to head our vital defence institutions who are dedicated to see the elimination of the brutes as if one of their own personal needs. They proved to the world, that they are professionals without match. They are not in the business of making the lame excuses for collateral damage as the strategies they adopt have the security of civilian built-in to them, by default.
As a second step, the commanders were able to carry out searches or even arrest people whom they were suspicious of assisting the terrorists -not necessarily the latter approved of the tactics – under threats. In short, there were no no-go areas in the country for the armed forces when the need arises to do so; no one was too big to be subjected to search. The collapse of spy network in the areas like Wellawatte, Bambalapitiy and Sea Street came into being thanks to this courageous step, which our previous leaders did not dare to take, for the fear of upsetting so-called influential Tamils – a.k.a Tamils under the bayonets.
They may be good Tamils, but were under the jackboot of LTTE terrorists to do what they were ordered to do – in most cases, against their will. This cycle of fear had to be dismantled and it proved successful. The failure of our previous leaders to identify this blindingly obvious fact, cost many lives, resources and the dignity of the nation - and at last themselves and what is left of their legacy.
There are no allegations of rape, deliberate civilian killings, harassment and food deprivation even from die-hard LTTE sympathisers. That is the beauty of the present campaign; we don’t have to wrestle with our conscience while celebrating the victory of freedom, when innocents are getting annihilated en masse. The war is going to be won with the minimum civilian casualties.
Of course, Tamils are inconvenienced by certain measures. Some of them did have unpleasant experiences at the hands of rude characters of the security forces from time to time. However, the people at the top took measures to deal with them as soon as they were brought to the notice of them. Resonable Tamils who wish that were not the case admit it is inevitable under the present circumstances; they draw consolation from the plight of Muslims in Europe when a fanatic blows himself up on an underground station.
Tamils did forgive the misdemeanours of some of our ugly elements in 1983. I am sure they will forgive us for these little inconveniences too while taking into account the big need to deal with this menace once and for all.
The heroic commanders reached this stage with utmost devotion and duty. There were local traitors who were hell-bent on political scoring taking every little set-back out of context to humiliate the troops. The traitors went from inflating casualty figures, to elevating the friendly neighbour India, who stood by us defying its southern trouble-maker, to a figure of a bogeyman while deliberately turning a blind eye to the contemporary geo-political realities. The intelligentsia funded by the western liberals were habitually predicting the failure of a military solution while highlighting the need of a political solution – without telling explicitly what it means.
The present silence maintained by the peace doves has nothing to do with media-crackdown. They just died a natural death due to lack of oxygen in terms of ground realities. There is nothing more humiliating than eating up one’s own words, which is not a known delicacy to even in a famine.
It is very unpleasant to see Tamil peasants being forced to move from place to place with their meagre belongings. At the same time, we can draw some consolation when the very civilians walk into the warm arms of the armed forces seeking protection: they hardly show the emotions of meeting a tormentor; on the contrary, the meeting of a caring saviour. It shows that the Nation does care for them in their hour of need. We are proud of the humanitarian acts shown by our forces.
In retrospect, we can only understand the pressure that the president, secretary defence and the chiefs of the forces have been under, in order to come this far: the threat of allegation against genocide, economic sanctions, termination of defence ties, and even an hypothetical invasion by the big neighbour were played out, time and again, which may not have been music to their ears. The courage they displayed and humiliation endured will be invisible monument in the national psyche to the great victory that we are about to see in a few hours.
The soldiers who died, lost their limbs and were taken prisoner took the risk while knowing very well what they were up against. I am sure the present administration, judging by their genuine concern bestowed on them on all fronts, will make the necessary arrangement to give us an opportunity to pay homage on annual basis for their sacrifices. They knew that was the case at the time of untimely death.
With the fall of Killinocchi, the myth of the outfit and its god-like head will be shattered beyond repair. There will be a statement to the effect of another tactical withdrawal.
Judging by the way things move, it is high time they constructed a tiny island in the international waters for the final withdrawl, when Mulathivu and Puthukuduruppu fall in that order or vice versa.
The reported big vessel that roams around with a certain cargo, is big enough for the purpose. Prabha is no stranger to building sand castles, after all.
Anybody knows about these "vikalpa" group?
ReplyDeleteFor you guys who've seen the video refered to above; if these guys are truly SLA soldiers, they deserve to be courts marshalled.
ReplyDeleteThis is a disgrace not only to the SLA but to the whole nation and there can be no excuse for disrespecting the dead like these animals do.
They should not only be dismissed from the army, but must also be held criminally liable and punished accordingly.
its getting hot in mula again.. TF3 and TF4 must work their magic to ease the pressure off the 59th
ReplyDeleteThis Kusal Perera guy has a blog.
ReplyDeleteSome body needs to answer him comprehensively.
I think no need to answer him in the blog'cos his posts has no comments. means it is not read by people. So why we want to promote his blog by adding comments?
There is a big possibility of Killinochchi falling within the next 3 days, by next Monday.
ReplyDeleteLikely attack on E'Pass also within weeks, if not days.