COLOMBO, 29 March 2007 — Sri Lanka’s military said yesterday it had captured a key Tamil Tiger rebel stronghold in the island’s embattled east, two days after the guerrillas stunned the capital with their first ever air raid.
Security forces took control of Kokkadichcholai in the district of Batticaloa and seized a large haul of arms, ammunition and land mines from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam base, the army said in a statement.
“Marking one more milestone in the army’s forward march to secure the besieged eastern areas from LTTE clutches, valiant troops this morning completely brought Kokkadichcholai under their control,” the statement said. It gave no details of casualties, but the statement suggested that the Tigers may have abandoned the area without putting up any resistance.
The army said it found a large amount of “warlike items that had been hurriedly left behind by fleeing Tiger terrorists in the face of advancing troops.” The guerrillas had left behind a distillery, which had been used to manufacture alcohol for sale in the coastal district, the army said. “It has been a local money-spinner for the terrorist organization,” the army said.
“We have captured a Tiger headquarters in Kokkadichcholai, south of Batticaloa,” said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe. “It was real luxury living. They had bungalows, conference halls.” “They have withdrawn,” he added. “When we went in, no one was there.”
There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tiger rebels, who on Monday staged a daring air attack against the main base of the Sri Lankan Air Force. The dramatic twist to the long-running conflict involved two single-engine planes flying over the main military air base adjacent to Sri Lanka’s only international airport and dropping bombs. Three airmen were killed in the attack, the LTTE’s first ever air raid.
President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday ordered the setting up of a toll-free telephone number to receive information about aircraft operated by Tamil Tiger rebels to prevent a repetition of the incident. On Tuesday, the president said that the Tamil Tigers’ acquisition of aircraft threatened South Asian security.
Rajapakse has ordered an investigation into the major security lapses that allowed the attack — which has seriously embarrassed the island’s defense establishment — to take place even though the planes were spotted on radar. The Tigers possess at least two Czech-built Zlin-143 single-engine four-seater aircraft and an airfield.
A press report here said that the radar near the air base had not functioned and thereby allowed the guerrillas to stage the attack and escape unscathed.
