Sri Lanka’s military last week stepped up deep-penetration raids into Tamil-Tiger controlled territory, killing several civilians and a senior LTTE officer. The attacks come amid continuing daily violence in government-controlled parts of the Northeast.
On one hand there are daily gun and grenade attacks on Sri Lankan security forces and on the other, Sri Lankan security forces have fired at and shelled LTTE positions. Meanwhile Army-backed paramilitaries and troops continued what international monitors have described as a ‘campaign of targeted killings.’
Last week the Sri Lanka Army stepped up deep penetration raids into LTTE-controlled Vanni, launching them out of government controlled areas to the south of the Vanni region. There were also raids into LTTE controlled regions of the Batticaloa district from the government controlled ones.
Sri Lankan commandos conducted both targeted killings of LTTE members and employees of LTTE administration services, but also conducted random attacks on civilians traveling in bullock carts and bicycles.
The Sri Lankan troops are drawn from the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) unit also known as Deep Penetration Unit (DPU).
Lieutenant Colonel Mahenthi, an LTTE Commander in the Mannar district, was killed along with three LTTE cadres in a claymore attack carried out by SLA soldiers on Saturday.
On Monday, pilgrims going to the Vatrapalai temple festival narrowly escaped a claymore mine blast on the Nedunkerny-Mulliavalai road.
Four health officials of the Tamil Eelam Health Service Mobile Medical Service were wounded when LRRP commandos triggered a claymore on Thursday at Akkarayan, 20 km from Kilinochchi.
On Tuesday this week, members of a Tamil auxiliary brigade surprised LRRP commandos planting mines on the Nedunkerni road between Nainamadu and Puliyankulam. One LRRP soldier and two auxiliary fighters were killed in the ensuing firefight.
The LRRP team withdrew, leaving behind the body of their dead comrade. The LTTE recovered the equipment packs, communication sets after the battle.
The escalation of violence comes amid heightened fears of renewed conflict. About 500 people have been killed since early April, raising fears that a 2002 cease-fire between the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) might collapse.
Amid the violence, the European Union’s decision to proscribe the LTTE as a terrorist group has outraged the Tigers who have demanded that EU countries remove their nationals from the Nordic group of monitors overseesing the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
Last week an LTTE delegation met with the heads of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and Norwegian facilitators to state the demand and to discuss the ongoing violence and the dispute over the sea movements by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the Sea Tigers.
LTTE officials said the SLMM had agreed to desist from traveling on SLN vessels after the LTTE insisted they must either travel on both sides’ craft or neither’s. In recent months, SLMM monitors on SLN vessels have had narrow escapes when clashes erupted between the two sides.
The government has recently also clashed with the monitoring mission after truce monitors said troops appeared to be involved in extrajudicial killings and the government appeared to be supporting anti-Tiger Tamil armed groups despite denials.
Reuters this week quoted analysts say that without talks, it may be almost impossible to stop an escalation in violence and a return to civil war.
Security has been stepped up in Colombo to levels before the Frbaury 2002 truce with increased numbers of road blocks and check points.
Last week the LTTE delegation in Oslo refused to meet a Sri Lankan delegation invited simultaneously by the Norwegian facilitators as Colombo had dispatched a low-level delegation.
The LTTE said it was prepared to allow the head of its Peace Secretariat, S. Puleedevan meet his Sri Lankan counterpart, Palitha Kohana, who was heading the GoSL delegation, but the latter refused.
Before leaving Oslo, the LTTE issued a statement saying the Tigers would continue to press their goal of self-determination for the Tamils.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a think tank to assist him in formulating a draft framework towards a final solution to the long drawn-out armed conflict.
It is headed by the ultra-Sinhala nationalist constitutional lawyer H. L. De Silva who at talks held in Geneva in February spearheaded GoSL’s efforts to have the CFA declared unconstitutional and void.
On one hand there are daily gun and grenade attacks on Sri Lankan security forces and on the other, Sri Lankan security forces have fired at and shelled LTTE positions. Meanwhile Army-backed paramilitaries and troops continued what international monitors have described as a ‘campaign of targeted killings.’
Last week the Sri Lanka Army stepped up deep penetration raids into LTTE-controlled Vanni, launching them out of government controlled areas to the south of the Vanni region. There were also raids into LTTE controlled regions of the Batticaloa district from the government controlled ones.
Sri Lankan commandos conducted both targeted killings of LTTE members and employees of LTTE administration services, but also conducted random attacks on civilians traveling in bullock carts and bicycles.
The Sri Lankan troops are drawn from the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) unit also known as Deep Penetration Unit (DPU).
Lieutenant Colonel Mahenthi, an LTTE Commander in the Mannar district, was killed along with three LTTE cadres in a claymore attack carried out by SLA soldiers on Saturday.
On Monday, pilgrims going to the Vatrapalai temple festival narrowly escaped a claymore mine blast on the Nedunkerny-Mulliavalai road.
Four health officials of the Tamil Eelam Health Service Mobile Medical Service were wounded when LRRP commandos triggered a claymore on Thursday at Akkarayan, 20 km from Kilinochchi.
On Tuesday this week, members of a Tamil auxiliary brigade surprised LRRP commandos planting mines on the Nedunkerni road between Nainamadu and Puliyankulam. One LRRP soldier and two auxiliary fighters were killed in the ensuing firefight.
The LRRP team withdrew, leaving behind the body of their dead comrade. The LTTE recovered the equipment packs, communication sets after the battle.
The escalation of violence comes amid heightened fears of renewed conflict. About 500 people have been killed since early April, raising fears that a 2002 cease-fire between the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) might collapse.
Amid the violence, the European Union’s decision to proscribe the LTTE as a terrorist group has outraged the Tigers who have demanded that EU countries remove their nationals from the Nordic group of monitors overseesing the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
Last week an LTTE delegation met with the heads of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and Norwegian facilitators to state the demand and to discuss the ongoing violence and the dispute over the sea movements by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the Sea Tigers.
LTTE officials said the SLMM had agreed to desist from traveling on SLN vessels after the LTTE insisted they must either travel on both sides’ craft or neither’s. In recent months, SLMM monitors on SLN vessels have had narrow escapes when clashes erupted between the two sides.
The government has recently also clashed with the monitoring mission after truce monitors said troops appeared to be involved in extrajudicial killings and the government appeared to be supporting anti-Tiger Tamil armed groups despite denials.
Reuters this week quoted analysts say that without talks, it may be almost impossible to stop an escalation in violence and a return to civil war.
Security has been stepped up in Colombo to levels before the Frbaury 2002 truce with increased numbers of road blocks and check points.
Last week the LTTE delegation in Oslo refused to meet a Sri Lankan delegation invited simultaneously by the Norwegian facilitators as Colombo had dispatched a low-level delegation.
The LTTE said it was prepared to allow the head of its Peace Secretariat, S. Puleedevan meet his Sri Lankan counterpart, Palitha Kohana, who was heading the GoSL delegation, but the latter refused.
Before leaving Oslo, the LTTE issued a statement saying the Tigers would continue to press their goal of self-determination for the Tamils.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a think tank to assist him in formulating a draft framework towards a final solution to the long drawn-out armed conflict.
It is headed by the ultra-Sinhala nationalist constitutional lawyer H. L. De Silva who at talks held in Geneva in February spearheaded GoSL’s efforts to have the CFA declared unconstitutional and void.
