Fall of Pooneryn: Crushing blow to Tigers

Fall of Pooneryn: Crushing blow to Tigers

Troops make major advances towards Kilinochchi, but face a long tough way ahead

By Iqbal Athas

There are strong indications that the Tiger guerrillas are coming under heavy military pressure on many fronts. The latest came yesterday. Troops backed by main battle tanks and helicopter gunships made a pre-dawn foray southwards into Tiger guerrilla defences in the now shut down Muhamalai entry exit point. Heavy fighting broke out and both sides suffered casualties. The battles continue. There were reports that the guerrillas carried out gas attacks. The Army has declared officially that canisters containing CS gas are being used by the guerrillas. The CS gas is a substance that is used as a riot control agent and widely regarded as being non-lethal. However, highly placed Army sources told The Sunday Times it was possible that the gas was not CS but some unidentified chemical agent. Muhamalai is located on the thin isthmus that links Jaffna peninsula to mainland Sri Lanka. It is regarded as the gateway to both the peninsula and the Wanni. The security forces defences there extend in the west from the Jaffna lagoon to the shores of the Indian Ocean in the east. This is the first time in a year troops are trying to breach the heavily fortified guerrilla defences south of Muhamalai. The previous offensive also came in November last year, just a day before President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also Minister of Finance, presented his Government’s third budget in Parliament. In the light of heavy resistance, troops were then forced to retreat to their original positions. Yesterday’s Army picture of troops in re-captured Pooneryn placing the national flag atop the tower of a memorial. Succumbing to military thrusts from any front would not only force the guerrillas to yield more territory they dominate but also face even more embarrassment. Despite all their efforts, they failed in their bid to hold Pooneryn. It fell to the security forces yesterday after they fought some heavy battles in the past three days. Both sides sustained very heavy casualties during these battles. The fall of Pooneryn comes with only ten days to go for their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to deliver his “Maveerar” (“Great Heroes”) day address. That it was a humiliating defeat for the guerrillas came from radio intercepts from the battlefield. A senior Army officer in the battlefront said one group blamed the other. “The anger and humiliation was reflected by the obscene language they used against each other,” he declared. For the 19th year in succession Prabhakaran will set out the “achievements” of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the current year and his plans for next year. The address comes just a day after his 54th birthday. Yesterday’s thrust by troops in Muhamalai, if successful, will take them to Pallai. Their advance in the direction of Kilinochchi, until recently the political capital of the guerrillas, lay ahead after Soranpattu, Elephant Pass and Paranthan. This thrust from the northern edge of territory dominated by the guerrillas will no doubt compel them to face an added threat in defending Kilinochchi. Until yesterday, the major thrust here came only from the Army’s 57 Division at Akkarayankulam. This Division is trying to overcome guerrilla resistance to enter Kilinochchi.