The Hindu : International : Lull in LTTE battles in the east

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Monday, Apr 12, 2004

International

International

Lull in LTTE battles in the east

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, APRIL 11. A lull in fighting has been reported from eastern Sri Lanka, where rival factions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) started armed battles on Friday.

``There is no fighting now, but we expect a major one in a few days,'' a civilian in the eastern Batticaloa town told The Hindu this evening.

The cadres sent by the LTTE leader, V. Prabakaran, to ``get rid'' of the defiant eastern military commander, V. Muralitharan (`Col.' Karuna), took control of pockets of the rebel-held areas in Amparai district, south of Batticaloa, sources said.

Earlier, the Tigers had moved more that 10 km into the northern extremes of `Col.' Karuna's territory in Batticaloa. Now in Amparai, Mr. Prabakaran's forces could attack the southern flank of the areas under `Col.' Karuna's control, the sources said. The manner in which Mr. Prabakaran's forces reached the rebel-held Amparai is not known, but civilians suspect the sea route from the northern to the eastern rebel-held areas. Unlike the northern rebel-held territories, where there are clear lines of demarcation between Government and LTTE-controlled areas, the eastern boundaries are hazy. The ceasefire agreement prohibits armed LTTE cadres from entering Government-held areas and does not provide the right of passage to armed rebels along the sea.

The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry, in its only comment on the eastern situation, said yesterday that ``it is intended to inform the Norwegian facilitators to convey to the LTTE'' that the internal fight ``is a violation of the ceasefire agreement.''

The two factions of the LTTE have not commented on the ground situation and could not be contacted. Despite the pause in the armed attacks between the two factions, civilians in the east expect a major clash, perhaps before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year Day or to coincide with it.

``Even during the war against the Government, the LTTE used the New Year period, when troops were off-guard, to strike. We can't rule it out,'' a civilian said. Loss of lives has been relatively low till now, with nine confirmed deaths, including one civilian. However, with a major battle not ruled out, the possibility of the toll rising towards the end of the present phase of the LTTE's first and most serious internal battle is not ruled out.

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