Lankan forces thought out of the box to defeat LTTE
P K Balachandran
First Published : 21 May 2009 03:14:00 AM IST
COLOMBO: Three years ago, no political or military observer would have predicted a total decimation of the formidable LTTE. And yet, by May 18, 2009, its entire top leadership, including Prabhakaran, lay dead in the marshy land adjacent to the Nanthikadal lagoon in Northeast Sri Lanka.
Such an ending was possible because the Sri Lankan armed forces had begun thinking out of the box, and were getting unflinching support from the country’s top political leadership.
ARMY: Under the leadership of Gen Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan army opened, for the first time in the history of the war in the island, a war front that stretched from Mannar in the West to Mullaitivu in the East and from Jaffna in the North to Vavuniya in the South, a stretch of 200 kms.
Since there were operations every day, the LTTE was unable to cope. As a senior Tamil defence correspondent said: “Its limited number of commanders had to be moved from front to front. They were exhausted. One of them, “Col” Balraj, most daring and innovative, died of a heart attack.” The Sri Lankan army also shed its “bunker mentality” (or staying put in fortified bunkers in secure camps and fighting the enemy only if he approaches).
It was asked to move forward, seek out the LTTE cadre and kill them.
The LTTE, however, did not give in easily.
It fought for every inch, but always withdrew before losses in men and material became too heavy.
NAVY: The present naval commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, got the Lankan navy to tackle the LTTE’s boats and ships in the deep seas in the international waters. The navy used aerial surveillance to good effect and sank many LTTE vessels called “floating warehouses” in mid sea. Vital intelligence inputs from India were also useful.
AIR FORCE: Previously the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) stayed grounded most of the time as it was scared of the LTTE’s shoulder fired missiles. It lacked night flying capability. This time round, under Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, the SLAF used its planes round the clock.
The LTTE’s last defensive weapon consisted of human cover. But intelligent shelling enabled the army to force civilians to break loose from the LTTE. Without the people, the LTTE’s leaders ran helter skelter, only to be gunned down.
First Published : 21 May 2009 03:14:00 AM IST
COLOMBO: Three years ago, no political or military observer would have predicted a total decimation of the formidable LTTE. And yet, by May 18, 2009, its entire top leadership, including Prabhakaran, lay dead in the marshy land adjacent to the Nanthikadal lagoon in Northeast Sri Lanka.
Such an ending was possible because the Sri Lankan armed forces had begun thinking out of the box, and were getting unflinching support from the country’s top political leadership.
ARMY: Under the leadership of Gen Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan army opened, for the first time in the history of the war in the island, a war front that stretched from Mannar in the West to Mullaitivu in the East and from Jaffna in the North to Vavuniya in the South, a stretch of 200 kms.
Since there were operations every day, the LTTE was unable to cope. As a senior Tamil defence correspondent said: “Its limited number of commanders had to be moved from front to front. They were exhausted. One of them, “Col” Balraj, most daring and innovative, died of a heart attack.” The Sri Lankan army also shed its “bunker mentality” (or staying put in fortified bunkers in secure camps and fighting the enemy only if he approaches).
It was asked to move forward, seek out the LTTE cadre and kill them.
The LTTE, however, did not give in easily.
It fought for every inch, but always withdrew before losses in men and material became too heavy.
NAVY: The present naval commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, got the Lankan navy to tackle the LTTE’s boats and ships in the deep seas in the international waters. The navy used aerial surveillance to good effect and sank many LTTE vessels called “floating warehouses” in mid sea. Vital intelligence inputs from India were also useful.
AIR FORCE: Previously the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) stayed grounded most of the time as it was scared of the LTTE’s shoulder fired missiles. It lacked night flying capability. This time round, under Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, the SLAF used its planes round the clock.
The LTTE’s last defensive weapon consisted of human cover. But intelligent shelling enabled the army to force civilians to break loose from the LTTE. Without the people, the LTTE’s leaders ran helter skelter, only to be gunned down.
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