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Colombo: Mallavi town captured

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military on Tuesday claimed to have captured Mallavi town, a major commercial hub and “nerve centre of the LTTE” on the border of Mullathivu district.

The Defence Ministry described Mallavi as LTTE’s “most important strategic bastion.” The town fell following weeks of intense fighting. “The military advances towards Mallavi came under heavy resistance from the LTTE as the outfit was engaged in a desperate attempt to save its strategic hub,” it said. Troops took control of Thunkkaki and Uyiliankulama towns in the eastern Mullathivu battlefront on August 22.

The Ministry released photographs of buildings and structures of the town, some of them purportedly housing offices of the LTTE. The town, native place of Velupillai Prabakaran’s wife Madivadini, has about a kilometre-long main street with “boutiques and shops on both sides of the town centre,” it said.

The LTTE’s main supply routes and several link roads run across the town.

Separately, the Air Force continued raids targeting LTTE positions in Nachchikuda.

Meanwhile, the pro-LTTE TamilNet, quoting the LTTE, claimed that “Tiger fighting formations confronted” the Army, which attempted to advance towards Nachchikuda, a fishing port in the Kilinochchi district.

Claiming the troops’ advancement was thwarted, the LTTE said it had located at least seven bodies of soldiers.

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