Jaffna offensive continues - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 1999, 17:12 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said today their offensive in the Jaffna peninsula was continuing as LTTE commando units tightened their grip around the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) base complex at Elephant Pass. The LTTE said SLA claims of 500 Tigers being killed were baseless. So far, 60 Tigers have died in the five days of fighting, the LTTE said in a statement released in London tonight.

The text of the press release follows:

"The offensive campaign of the Tamil Tigers to liberate the Jaffna Peninsula continued today for the fifth day with intense artillery shelling on Sri Lanka army positions in Thenmarachi, Vadamarachi and along the coastal region of the Jaffna town."

"The LTTE fighting units, which overran the strategic military bases at Vettilaikerni, Kaddaikadu, Pullaveli and Marathankerni in the northeastern sector of Elephant Pass, have been consolidating their positions and advancing further into the eastern coastal belt of Vadamarachi."

"Heavy exchange of artillery and mortar bombardment continued in the area as the LTTE commando units slowly and systematically tightened their grip around the Elephant Pass military complex."

"Threatened by the encirclement of the Elephant Pass base complex, the Sri Lankan navy and airforce have been continuously pounding the coastal areas that have fallen to Tamil Tigers."

"In the meantime, the Sri Lankan government has unleashed a mischievous propaganda war against the LTTE's offensive campaign claiming exaggerated casualty figures on the Tigers."

"The reports emanating from the Defence Ministry sources that over 500 LTTE cadres have been killed are baseless and fictitious. Operating under the cover of a rigorous censorship, the government has been distorting the actuality of the ground situation to deceive its own populace and the world in general."

"So far sixty of our cadres have been killed during the last five days."