Armoured units spearheading advance - VOT

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 November 1999, 04:18 GMT]
The Voice of Tigers (VOT) said in its news broadcast this morning that the special forces of the Liberation Tigers continued their advance towards Mannar and Vavuniya. The radio said that the armoured and artillery units of the LTTE's special forces are spearheading the advance.

The Tigers overran thirty five kilometers of Forward Defence Lines and a ten kilometer stretch of mini-camps the VOT said. The LTTE captured Pandivirichchaan, Periya Pandivirichchaan, Mullikkulam, Kaakkaiyan Kulam and Keerisuttaan according to the radio.

The VOT said that heavy fighting continued in the Iranai Illuppaikkulam area, north west of Vavuniya, last night. Iaranai Illuppaikkulam is a key junction on the interior road between the A9 highway and the Mannar-Jaffna highway.

The areas taken by the Liberation Tigers yesterday lie to the north west of Vavuniya, largely in the eastern sector of the Mannar district. The Sri Lankan army moved unopposed into this sector of the Vanni from March this year in a series of operations codenamed Rana Gosa I,II,III and IV.