The Hindu : Front Page : Land route opened up to Jaffna: Sri Lanka

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 16, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Land route opened up to Jaffna: Sri Lanka

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Army captures Ponneryn, a strategic sea base

Ponneryn handed over to IPKF
in 1987
Land link to Jaffna after 20 years,
says Army chief

COLOMBO: Announcing the capture of the LTTE’s last strategic sea base on Saturday, the Sri Lankan military said troops “having liberated Ponneryn, are now engaged in mop-up operations”.

It said the troops are now clearing their way towards Kalmunai Point (K-Point) along the 20-km-long narrow land stretch, leading to the Jaffna Peninsula, where the LTTE used to station its artillery and mortar batteries.

The Ministry said the Air Force has launched airstrikes to support troops in the Muhamalai area. The LTTE has been engaged in skirmishes with the military in the Jaffna Peninsula for several months from its bases in Muhamalai. With the fall of Ponneryn, the military is expected to gain an upper hand in the Muhamalai area. Air Force spokesperson Janaka Nanayakkara said that helicopters and jets engaged LTTE artillery and mortar positions in the area on Saturday.

Sri Lanka Army chief, Lieutenant-General Sarath Fonseka told the media the A-32 Road from Mannar to Pooneryn has been liberated after 20 years. He said that troops of Task Force-1 and 57 Division cut off the Pooneryn-Paranthan Road (B-69) on Friday and have marched down the road to Ponneryn Junction.

He said after 20 years, the Army has opened up a land route to Jaffna. “We have eliminated a large number of terrorists during this battle; the remaining terrorists are now running for their lives across the Kilali Lagoon. At present, our forces have positioned themselves about 10 km west of Paranthan on the A-9 Road,” he said

In a report posted on its website, the Defence Ministry said: “Ponneryn remains a hallmark of the undying courage of Sri Lanka Army soldiers as they withstood frenetic attack by the terrorists at the isolated camp in 1993. Army handed over their positions in the area to IPKF in 1987 and regained them in 1992 in Operations Valampuri 1 and 2. On November 11, 1993, the LTTE made an attempt to capture the Poonaeyn camp, but failed before the courage of Army soldiers. The incident was excessively misinterpreted as a great debacle by media with exaggerated army death and casualty figures. In mid 1996, the camp was vacated by the Army as a tactical measure.”

Counter-claim

The TamilNet website, in a report on the fall of Ponneryn (spelt ‘Poonakari’ on the website), highlighted the message of Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa that forces have occupied the “full stretch of the A-32 Road.” It said the road he mentioned is not a land link to Jaffna.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page