New SLA strategy to capture Mankulam?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Eelanaatham, the only daily published in the Vanni region controlled by the Liberation Tigers, said today that the Sri Lankan troops of Operation Jayasikurui are now attacking in small groups to capture Mankulam.

The paper said that on Thursday the SLA had attempted move out of its positions east of mankulam in this manner but the Liberation Tigers had repulsed the SL government troops who had withdrawn with casualties.

The paper commented on the small group -small operations strategy currently adopted by Operation Jayasikurui.

Meanwhile, the Liberation Tigers announced in the Vanni that an LTTE fighter, Senjchudar (Navaraththinam Jayakumar of Jaffna) was killed in a confrontation with the SLA in the Mankulam area on Thursday.