Kilinochchi SLA thrust repulsed - VoT

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 September 1998, 17:32 GMT]
The Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio announced in its night broadcast today that the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) had attempted to thrust out from its positions in Kilinochchi and Paranthan this morning around 9 a.m. The radio said that the Tigers had beaten back the SLA's twin offensive and destroyed a main battle tank (MBT).

However, the sources said that three SLA troops were killed and six injured in an ambush at Katkovalam in Vadamaratchi on the Jaffna peninsula at 4.30pm on August 31. The LTTE did not incur any casualties in this attack, they said.

The SLA troops from the Paranthan base had attempted to thrust towards the 2nd milepost on the road to Mullaithivu and troops from the Kilinochchi SLA complex had pushed out towards Murasumoddai.

The fighting, according to the VOT, had lasted for half an hour.

Kilinochchi and Paranthan towns were captured by the SLA in August 1996 in Operation Sath Jaya, displacing over 200,000 civilians.

The SLA has since fortified the towns into major military complexes.

In January this year, the LTTE stormed the Kilinochchi base, capturing the southern and western parts of the town. The SLA has unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge the Tigers from these positions several times.

The SLA needs to capture the Tiger-held areas of Kilinochchi if it is to successfully conclude Operation Jayasikirui, which is intended to capture the supply route from SLA-held Vavuniya to Kilinochchi.