Sporadic clashes reported near Wanni, Jaffna defense lines

Sporadic clashes between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued along multiple fronts in the Northern battle theater. Fighting was reported along Jaffna FDLs near Muhamalai, Kilali and Nagarkovil while clashes continued at the Wanni front near recently captured Adampan area. A total of 10 soldiers have been killed in the past few day's fighting while another 25 more have been injured.

Battles erupted along Jaffna FDLs when small attack formations of the 55th division launched limited attacks on LTTE bunkers near the frontline. Although several pro LTTE media termed the attacks as "attempts to advanced into LTTE held territory", these were merely hit and run style attacks conducted by the army on regular basis. These types of missions are not carried out with territorial gains in mind as their main purpose is to destroy as many enemy assets on the frontline as possible.

Vavuniya front also heated up when SLA directed heavy artillery and MBRL fire at a suspected LTTE gathering point in Pallaimodai. Ground based intelligence reports indicated that a tractor carrying LTTE cadres too was hit by SLA artillery fire. Casualty figures in these incidents cannot be confirmed as of now.

Meanwhile soldiers of the 3SF (3rd Special Forces) ambushed a LTTE convoy in Mannar killing at least 10 LTTE cadres in the process. The incident took place east of Adampan where heavy fighting had raged for the last few days. 3SF is renowned for its deep penetration and Long Range Surveillance (LRS) units such as the legendary "Alpha Squad".

SLAF to get more UAVs, Helicopter Gunships

Several new Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are set to join SLAF fleet, giving a boost to its aerial reconnaissance capabilities which were seriously affected by LTTE's raid on AAB. Four Israeli made Searcher MK II UAVs will be added to 11th UAV flight in the coming days.

Additionally, several Mi-35 Crocodile" gunships of 9th attack helicopter squadron are to undergo overhauling. After the upgrade, these Mi-35s will have all weather/day/night attack capability.  At least 3 more Mi-35s are to be purchased from Russia in a bid to further strengthen SLAF's helicopter gunship fleet.

Weli-Oya : Next front in Wanni battle

Several small attack teams of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) moved ahead of their defense lines in Weli-Oya (referred to as Manal-Aru by the tigers) to conduct a pre emptive strike on LTTE positions on the FDL, yesterday (11th) noon. This limited operation was aimed at dismantling LTTE defenses in Kokkuthiduwai region. At least 9 LTTE cadres have been killed during the operation and 4 SLA soldiers too have been wounded. As capturing land was not an objective of this operation, all SLA units have returned to their original positions. Spearheading the assaults in Weli Oya sector are soldiers of the 59th division. Newly raised 59th division is an offensive formation modeled after the 57th division and elite 53rd division.

LTTE previously reinforced this area fearing a mass scale army invasion into Wanni from Weli-Oya sector. The Army, instead of marching into the heavily fortified defenses in Weli Oya, opened the Mannar front to divert LTTE attention.  Yesterday's limited operation shows the Army's intent to fight on multiple fronts. SLA are exploiting a weakness in LTTE outfit as their current manpower and ammunition shortage makes it difficult for them to fight on two different battlefronts. This fact was earlier  revealed by former LTTE colonel Karuna Amman.

Weli-Oya sector holds bitter past memories for the LTTE; One of their previous attempts to overrun the area went terribly wrong when the army thwarted the operation with an extraordinary kill ratio of 1:250 . Nearly 500 LTTE bodies (majority of LTTE casualties being child soldiers) were scattered near the FDL when SLA forces commanded by Major General Janaka Perera halted the LTTE offensive losing merely 2 soldiers. However,one should not expect the same type of kill ratios to be achieved in a new offensive in Weli Oya area. Although the army has the upper hand, LTTE too has heavily fortified defense lines (in this case 3 of them), which are manned by experienced cadres. According to military intelligence, defenses of the area were personally inspected by LTTE leader himself just a few months ago.

Meanwhile LTTE's elite Charles Anthony regiment offered heavy resistance to SLA forces conducting operations near Mannar defense lines. Both parties have suffered losses in latest rounds of fighting with the bulk of them being LTTE casualties. So far the Charles Anthony regiment have launched several medium scale operations with the intent of recapturing lost ground. They however have so far had little or no success against SLA's Commando and Special Forces units in the frontline. Not only have the army been able to hold onto every inch of newly gained ground but they at one point stormed a Charles Anthony brigade bunker killing at least 6 cadres who were inside.

Czech Republic offers to provide anti aircraft missiles to Sri Lanka

Czech republic has offered to provide anti aircraft missiles for SLAF while LTTE's de facto air force continued to pose a threat to Sri Lanka. Czech offer includes supply of state-of-the art AA missiles, training and even personnel to man the launchers if required.  Whether the GOSL will accept the offer or not remains to be see.

LTTE is known to operate between 5 to 10 Zlin-143 light planes and have so far attempted 7 raids on both military and economic targets in Sri Lanka. A locally made bomb rack has been attached to at least one of these aircrafts. However payload delivery seems to be lever activated and this may be the cause of reduced accuracy. Even though the LTTE planes have had little success in terms of damaging military/economic assets, they have significantly boosted LTTE's morale and have further strengthened Eelam Diaspora funding.

This is not the first time Czech government pledged help to the Sri Lanka military. After the fall of Elephant Pass base complex in 2000, LTTE laid siege to Jaffna trapping 32000 government troops in the Peninsula. By that time LTTE had managed to acquire weapons with higher firepower such as the 152mm artillery. This is when the Sri Lankan government turned to India for offensive weapons but all India had to offer were transport aircraft to evacuate 32000 forces from Jaffna. However Pakistan and Czech republic came to Sri Lanka's aid by providing Multiple Rocket Launchers (BM-21 and RM-70). One shipment of RM-70 MBRLs went missing for several days when the plane carrying the hardware landed on a different country. Plane was later found and finally the delivery was made to Sri Lanka after a significant delay, only to be found that MBRLs that were on board were sabotaged. Luckily for the army, the machines were repairable (Later MI discovered that the Norwegian intelligence agencies were behind the whole fiasco). When the first MBRL barrage was fired on Pooneryn, LTTE artillery that were pounding Palaly for days immediately fell silent. RM-70 and BM-21 MBRLs were used extensively to push back the LTTE forces that laid siege to Jaffna and the machines were responsible for halting LTTE's unceasing waves III operation. In addition to the MBRLs, Czech government recently offered to provide Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for SLAF to replenish its inventory from losses suffered in AAB attack.

In the meantime Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) flew three sorties on LTTE military installations in the North during last week. Surprisingly, both government and pro LTTE media were silent about the attacks. As usual, casualty figures from these aerial raids are not available as of now.

Mechanized Infantry Division concludes training phase

Sri Lanka Army (SLA)'s newest offensive fighting formation has concluded its training phase and is now ready to enter the heated battlefields in Northern province. The Mechanized Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel Ralf Nugera, consists of specially trained ground troops and armored vehicles.

Although it has successfully concluded its training phase, the process hasn't been a joyride. On February 14th, a meeting of army officials was taking place at 53rd division HQ. It was in this meeting the Mechanized Infantry Division was to be officially raised. However, LTTE shelled the HQ with at least four 130mm artillery guns (stationed in Pooneryn) wounding 14 including several senior military officials. Even the commander of army's 53rd division was injured.

Plans for the MID suffered another setback when LTTE's Victor (aka "Vetter") anti-armor unit destroyed 6 tanks and 6 IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) when the army tried to advance towards Pallei last year. The loss came at a time when the SLA were trying to boost its inventory of armored vehicles.

However, the Mechanized Infantry Division is now an active part of the Sri Lankan Army despite the early disturbances. Its primary use would be to invade enemy territory utilizing brute force of the armoured vehicles and then deploy its infantry to the heart of the battle. Due to protection from APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers), troop casualties are expected to be lower.

Mechanized Infantry Division currently consists of 3 regiments and has a wide variety of armored vehicles including BTR-80A, BMP-2 and WZ551 under its wing.

Poll Results

Several Days ago we conducted a poll regarding the personal attacks that are often seen in the comments sections. According to the results, a vast majority (nearly 80%) have voted in favor of deletion of such comments. This does not mean that we will start censoring comments; we believe in freedom of speech and we certainly do not want to play 'big brother' by imposing censorship. Comments will only be removed at a last resort.

Anyway it seems that our first poll did not draw much attention. Less than 10% of our average daily readership voted. Even so, the 80% majority against personal attacks clearly indicate that most readers do not enjoy such arguments. Therefore keep your comments civil and polite if you want more people to read them.

LTTE reinforces Wanni defense lines

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were reinforcing defense lines along Wanni in the wake of intensified fighting in the area. Latest rebel move came as the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched several limited offensives on strategic positions that guard entrances to Wanni LTTE heartland. Most of the missions were able to meet their objectives with extremely low casualty figures for the army.

Meanwhile, LTTE could be observed deploying their more experienced units to Mannar region. To boost the morale of female LTTE cadres manning FDL potions, LTTE has assigned 'Vidusha' to this sector. Vidusha is one of the most senior members of the LTTE outfit. With army opening multiple fronts towards Wanni, even the Charles Anthony brigade (which had previously been deployed near secondary defense lines of Wanni) is showing more signs of activity. Up to now, Charles Anthony brigade was rarely used in battle even though they were deployed near the war zone.

Meanwhile the army successfully thwarted a fresh attempt by the tigers to regain lost territory near Mannar-Vavuniya defense lines. It is believed that at least 20 LTTE cadres were killed in this incident.

Heavy civilian casualties in claymore explosion

Heavy casualties were reported when suspected LTTE rebels set off a claymore mine targeting a civilian transport near Abhimanapura today evening. According to latest reports 15 civilians have been killed and further 23 have been injured in the incident. As of now, no military casualties are reported. The Ceylon Transportation Board (CTB) owned bus which was hit, had 50 passengers on board (all civilians) when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile SLA kept up its limited offensives on Wanni defense lines  pushing LTTE further into a defensive stance. SLA attacks are originating from multiple fronts in Mannar and Vavuniya and in some places SLA forward defense lines have been extended by 1Kms.

Providing support for the Special Infantry units are army's deep penetration squads. Soldiers of 3SF (3rd Special Forces regiment) carried out at least 3 attacks inside LTTE held territory in Mannar and Vavuniya during last week. According to enemy communications, a land rover and two double cabs belonging to LTTE have been destroyed in these attacks. Information on the intended targets or casualty figures are unavailable as of now.

Fighting in Panama

A group of soldiers engaged in a search operation near Panama village (northern part of Yala sanctuary) came under a LTTE attack at around 5pm this evening. Although the battle is not reported to be of large scale, at least one soldier has been rushed to hospital due to the nature of his injuries. A squad of commandos have been deployed in the area immediately after the attack.

According to an LTTE cadre who was arrested previously, a group of 30 cadres had managed to enter Yala sanctuary when their base in Kadiraweli fell to the army few months ago.

LTTE bunker line at Manthai overrun

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers deployed in the Mannar defense lines were able to overrun LTTE's first bunker line in Manthai region (South of Adampan) yesterday. Soldiers of the 57th division spearheaded by Special Infantry (SI) formations carried out the limited offensive. The bunker line is now completely under SLA control. Meanwhile sporadic clashes were reported in the Perya-Thampanai region in Vavuniya and also in Weli Oya. According to Military intelligence reports, 16 LTTE cadres have been killed and nearly 40 more have been wounded in battle during the last two days. 4 SLA soldiers have been killed and 16 more have received injuries in the confrontations.

The army has increased the number of small scale attacks on the frontlines which guard the entrances to Wanni LTTE heartland. SLA has deployed 3 newly raised offensive formations along with elite Special Forces regiments on three fronts near Wanni defense lines.

In addition to 57th, 58th, 59th divisions and 1st and 2nd Special Forces regiments, the Mechanized Infantry Division has also been strategically placed in the area. Mechanized Infantry Division (MID) is comprised of regular infantry formations and vehicles of SLA armored corps such as heavy tanks, armored personnel carriers (APC) and infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). After the loss of 12 vehicles (6 tanks + 6 IFVS) in the failed advance at Muhamalai last year, 100 new Chinese built APCs have been added to Mechanized Infantry Division's inventory.

Meanwhile army's 55th division and the elite 53rd division have also been placed on high alert in the Jaffna peninsula. 55th division has played an active role in the 4th Eelam War with a number of successful small scale attacks on LTTE frontlines near the National Front (Muhamalai/Kilali/NagarKovil region) under their belt.

According to latest Intelligence reports, the LTTE has decided to attack both military and civilian targets in the South to disrupt civilian life as much as possible. MI warns of an LTTE plan to attack several major cities simultaneously (including Colombo and Kandy) and cause widespread panic and fear among civilians. The WTC twin towers, Colombo harbor and the city of Kandy are said to be among primary targets of the LTTE. According to MI, LTTE intelligence cadres disguised as beggars, differently-abled people and sales representatives have already been deployed to gather intel on these targets.

Meanwhile Defence.lk has made available a video showing the assassination attempt of minister Douglas Devananda. Video includes security camera footage which clearly shows the female suicide bomber detonate the bomb strapped to her bra inside an office filled with civilians. You can download the video from this link