COLOMBO: Government troops captured a strategic Tamil Tiger-held town yesterday and moved closer to a key rebel base, as Sri Lankans raised flags and held a moment of silence to honor the military as it battles to end the country’s 25-year-old civil war.
Government forces have won a string of stunning victories over the rebels in recent months, forcing them to withdraw from much of the de facto state they once controlled in the north.
On Friday, troops took control of the rebels’ administrative capital, Kilinochchi, dealing a harsh blow to their dreams of establishing a separate state for ethnic Tamils.
The rebels, as well has hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting, are now confined to a jungle area slightly larger than the city of Los Angeles.
In honor of the troops and of those slain in the war, the government held flag-raising ceremonies across the country and called for two minutes of silence, even as the military pressed ahead with its attacks. “Day by day, the Tigers’ territory is shrinking and their numbers are dwindling. The objective of finishing this war won’t be that long off,” said Maj. Gen. Jagath Dias, who commanded the battle for Kilinochchi.
Troops yesterday took control of the town of Oddusudan, which sits at an important crossroads leading to the rebel town of Mullaittivu, according to military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
Soldiers also took the Elephant Pass stronghold, a strategic chokepoint just south of the government-controlled Jaffna Peninsula, the military said. Seizing Elephant Pass would cut off the rebels’ heavily fortified front line on the peninsula from the rest of their remaining territory, allowing troops to attack the guerrillas manning those fortifications from behind.
Troops clashed with the rebels across the Mullaittivu district Sunday and recovered the bodies of at least 15 guerrilla fighters slain in the battles. Rebels could not be reached for comment on the fighting.
