Colombo: Sri Lankan armed forces continue their ground offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and are now advancing forward in an attempt to capture Tamil Tigers' last stronghold, Mullaittivu.
On Saturday, the Sri Lankan Army had captured the LTTE headquarters in Kilinochchi.
Sri Lankan Military Spokesperson, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said, "The troops are movin towards east after capturing Kilinochchi, causing heavy damage to LTTE. It has lost over 25 caddets and a large number have faced casulaties. We have recovered 15 bodies along with weapons and communication equipments. Many LTTE men soldiers have suffered setbacks. There has been no setback for the Sri Lankan army, although a couple of soldiers have been sacrificed. We will takeover the rest of the area soon."
But an LTTE-affiliated website, Tamilnet, has claimed that the Sri Lankan Army's advances have been stalled.
Tamilnet reported that 53 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and at least 80 others injured.
"The SLA forces were forced to abandon their attempt to advance after suffering high casualties," the website claimed.
It also reported that the army was forced to abandon its march east of Paranthan Junction after suffering heavy casualties.
Paranthan Junction, which was captured on Thursday, is the army's strategic staging area from where it sends troops to the rebel-held areas of Elephant Pass to the north and Mullaittivu to the east.
Meanwhile, Lankan troops have entered the strategically vital Oddusuddan town located along the Mankulam-Mullaittivu main road, the military said.
The junction had been used by the LTTE for administrative and logistic purposes as it has direct route access towards Mullaittivu. Troops were engaged in further consolidating operations in north and west of Oddusudan, it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
Comments
0 comment