Tigers push further in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 November 1999, 05:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers brought more villages under their control as their troops continued operations in the large sector west of Madhu and north of the Vavuniya Mannar highway in the district of Mannar yesterday sources in Vavuniya said this morning. The sources said that the fighting units of the LTTE are moving closer to the Thallady SLA base from the areas captured in the latest phase of the offensive in Mannar.

The villages retaken by Tigers include Parappukadanthaan, Andankulam, Thenadaiyaan, Adampan and Vattakkandal.

Meanwhile in its morning broadcast today, the Voice of Tigers asked civilians in Vankalai, Palakuli, Uyilankulam and Murunkan and in the settlement by the edge of the Giant's Tank (Kaddukkarai Kulam) to move into Nanaddan for safety. Nanaddan is a large village in the interior, southeast of Mannar

Murunkan and Uyilankulam are key towns on the Vavuniya Mannar road which were captured by the SLA in early 1997 in a major operation called Edibala. The Uyilankulam junction links the southern interior of the Mannar district to the southwestern interior of the Vanni. The SLA launched Op. Edibala to secure a overlandland supply route to Mannar which was accessible only by sea at the time.

The SLA is concerned that its positions on the Mannar island and at Thallady and its environs might come under serious threat if the advancing units of the Liberation Tigers were to cut off the Vavuniya-Mannar road in their current thrust to the south in mainland Mannar. Troops on Mannar island and Thallady will have to be supplied by sea from Kalpity, north of Puttalam if the Liberation Tigers were to overrun SLA positions between Parayanalankulam and Thallady.