How Northern War Theatre is turning into a Sri Lankan Quagmire
Doing the same in North, just as in the East is the mistaken belief that is hovering major diplomatic, economic and militaristic burdens for the Government of Sri Lanka today, says Irasiah Ilanthirayan, the Military Spokesman of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Fighting a war for political reasons and unable pull out due to the fanfare shown at the start of the warfare is turning the Northern war front into a quagmire for Sri Lankan forces according to Irasiah Ilanthirayan.
The LTTE Military spokesman talked to the Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation on the prevailing conditions at the Vanni theatre of war.

[Irasiah Ilanthirayan]
Excerpts from his comments as follows:
“The war towards North that began on 15th of March 2007 in Vanni continues through this day. There is a vigorous war going on in several parts of Mannar and Manalaru.
The major thrust that was started in a similar manner on the 11th of October in 2006 in Killali, Mukamalai and Nagar Kovil areas have not advanced an inch. Attempts to advance from these areas are being made continuously. Under the guidance of our leader V.Pirapaharan, our Colonels and cadres are waging a vigorous fight utilizing the landscape and tactically appropriate ways to inflict casualties.
Mannar
There are several reasons for Sri Lanka armed forces to keep targeting the areas around Mannar. In accordance with their agenda, bringing the greater Mannar area under their total control and opening a land route along Mannar-Poonaryn is important for them.
There is a striving to gain politically as well by trying to push towards the holy shrine of Madhu in the meantime.
If a specifically named military operation is conducted consisting of a mission and goal, it will also have to spell out the time limitations to accomplish them. In order to avoid being entangled in such circumstances, vigorous attacks and tactics utilizing large number of forces are increasingly being carried out in those areas.
Through these attacks they may attempt, to capture places that they could mention; or to gain politically, by bringing the holy area of Madhu under control.
They have not announced a time frame under these circumstances, but the push towards capturing the greater Mannar areas and securing a land route along them is on.
The armed forces are using maximum strength in these operations. 57th and 58th divisions along with several sub forces, guard troops, special forces, and artillery units are being put into action with great anticipation. But the war is grinding on over years.
What is the result of this ’serial’ operation? What are the loses to the armed forces during this war that has spanned over an year? And many analysts have began to look into what the implications will be from these.
Mannar is our soil. We will fight for it intensely. Operation is underway to open a land route to Jaffna and also political purposes. But Sri Lankan forces are in deep angst on the prospects of capturing these areas as time goes by.
In these areas, in accordance with the prevailing conditions we employ several tactics by going forward and backward; such as attacking sideways after allowing to advance and attacking by intervening the moving forces.
The forces may arrive at Madhu tomorrow. The following day we will be in Mathawachchi. This is a rotating aspect. What losses will the forces encounter on every inch they advance.? Our cadres carryout their maneuvers in this war, by grasping the befalling realities when the Sri Lankan forces feel for their losses in the battlefield.
The Sri Lankan military base in Anuradhapura is being used as the command center for these continuous operations.
As I said earlier there are several reasons for these operations. Even though there is no clear vision, there are compelling political reasons. There are no accomplished victories to speak of and politics is preventing to curtail the operation that began with much fanfare. This is what the Mannar battlefield is today. They have fallen into a quagmire.
When Mahinda Rajapakse came to power, war was a sub text. But now it has taken full embodiment of his administration. His early dazzle was that over powering the Tigers will be easy. But Rajapakse has repeated the same historical mistakes made by previous Presidents and Armed Forces Generals.
With the set time frames within only them and not in the limelight, operations are being carried out by playing a mere numbers game. The same errors were made previously in the math of the war.
Propagandas trumpet that hundreds of Tigers are dying while just a few government soldiers are getting wounded. They are unable to avoid this. Propaganda is a tool to deflate and distract the feelings on inflation, distrust over the Rajapakse brothers and resulting confusions and mistrust of the government in the South when the truth of the war zones creeps amidst the iron clad on the media.
Manalaru
As in Mannar, the Armed Forces are attempting to advance in Manalaru as well. But we have very strong defense structures there. And like Mannar, Manalaru is also our heartland. Our forces are engaged in two types of warfare there.
It is a suitable terrain for conventional as well as guerilla warfare. The Sri Lankan forces are stuck there too without moving forward.
Mukamalai
As far as the Northern battlefront is concerned, skirmishes in Mukamalai, Kilali and Nagarkovil are of continuous daily occurrences. They are unable to inch forward while facing casualties here too.
Amidst this, they have built up the troop strength in the peninsula. This is due to their fear that the Tigers may land there and launch attack anytime. This is why their most trusted 53rd division elite forces are stationed there. Some support guard troops are also accompanying them.
The Air Force base is nearby. With this facility they could transport the wounded and attend to other logistics faster. But they are unable to do much with all these capabilities.
Success and failure in a battlefield is determined by meeting set goals. Since 2006, we have been succeeding on the warfare of attacking, upon cutting short the advancement of troops in the Northern front.
East
The situation of the Sri Lankan armed forces is like ‘Thinking of unhusked rice and pounding the mortar’. Even the international watchers of this conflict are now saying this. Those who invested believing in the tactics of the Sri Lankan Army are now questioning the results. Part of this development is what has led to President Rajapakse and Military Generals to now say that time limits cannot be imposed on winning the Tigers, as previously thought of.
As far as the East is concerned our need is to wage a fight with intense. Within that limit we are managing to fight a war. This situation has forced the government to station troops there.
When armed forces have to be deployed elsewhere as new fronts open far from the East, government is facing the necessity of replacing them.
Doing the same in North, just as in the East is the mistaken belief that is hovering major diplomatic, economic and militaristic burdens for the Government of Sri Lanka today. And the battle front is turning towards our favour at this critical juncture.
The Sri Lankan Armed forces have come to know of the intensity of our attacks over numerous times. For example, our attacks on the Anuradhapura and Katunayake Air Force bases are of one kind. Then there is ‘Unceasing Waves’. And there is another kind, in which our fight back against ‘Agni Kela’ stands proof of the parity of our forces on the balance of militaristic strength.
When such reality prevails, international analysts are vociferously pointing out to the Sri Lankan government the larger reality, that the Tigers have not lost their capability to carry out such attacks. Have you done anything to change the attack capabilities of the Tigers is what these analysts are asking the government.
[BBC News footage on the recent sinking of Sri Lanka boat off Mullaithivu seas]
Mullaithivu Black Tiger Attack
I cannot say anything in detail on the attack on the seas of Mullaithivu a few days ago. The fallout from this attack is huge for the government. We have brought this sea lane under our control, which is also the distribution route to the Sri Lankan armed forces in the North.
The Black Tigers have again challenged the notion of maritime sovereignty of the government of Sri Lanka. The questionable status of Sri Lankan maritime waters sovereignty is lingering in the international arena today.
The Sri Lankan government has vast militaristic resources and we cannot match those. But our determination is greater than that of the Sri Lankan forces. They go through a lull in the war as they don’t have justness to wage this war.
The armed forces are now aimless. They distrust the task at hand. They are depressed and in deep angst. In these circumstances their determination is dented; their will is getting destroyed.
[This report is a translation of an article that appeared in the Sri Lanka Tamil Daily Thinakkural]
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