"Vavuniya exposed" say Tigers

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 November 1999, 11:12 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said today the strategic Sri Lanka Army (SLA) garrison town of Vavuniya south of the Vanni region was "exposed to LTTE's offensive thrust", as the SLAís defence system in the Vanni region had "collapsed suddenly."

The Tigers have captured vast tracts of lands east and west of A9 highway, including the towns of Moonrumurrippu, Mannakulam (west of Mankulam), Nainamadu and Mathiyamadu (east of Puliyankulam), the LTTE said in a statement issued in London today.

Extracts from the statement follow:

"Sri Lankan military establishment suffered further humiliating debacles when two more strategically important towns on the A9 highway in the southern Vanni region fell to the LTTE."

"Puliyankulam and Kanakarayankulam, the strongest and well fortified outposts situated on the highway 15 and 20 miles respectively from the city of Vavuniya, were overrun by the LTTE forces."

"LTTE commando units stormed the garrison town of Kanakarayankulam, and brought the military base under control last night after intense fighting. Constituted as a massive military complex housing the headquarters of the Armyís 55, 56 Divisions, Kanagarayankulam was subjected to heavy artillery and mortar bombardment by the LTTE forces for the last few days and suffered huge damages."

"After overrunning Kanakarayankulam, LTTE commando units launched a fierce attack on Puliyankulam and captured the town today."

"With the fall of these well-entrenched and strategically crucial towns, the formidable defence system painfully built-up by the Sri Lankan military for the last five years with heavy loss of human lives in the northern Vanni region, crumbled suddenly."

"LTTE offensive onslaughts and sudden loss of huge territories confused the military establishment in Vanni and caused de-moralisation amongst the military personnel. As a consequence thousands of troops have deserted their posts in panic and fled into the jungles."

"The LTTE fighters are pursuing the Sinhala soldiers in mopping up operations in different regions of Vanni."

"By overrunning several military complexes, bases and camps within a short span of time by sudden and lightning assaults, the Liberation Tigers have amassed a massive array of war materials and military vehicles amounting to billions of rupees."

"With the fall of Puliyankulam, the last garrison town in the southern sector of Vanni, the city of Vavuniya is now exposed to LTTEís offensive thrust. Thousands of troops have already fallen back to bases in Vavuniya to reinforce the defence system of the city where 50,000 Tamils live."