Unpredictable days ahead

UN Special Envoy Allan Rock, much in the news, last week told a Canadian newspaper that there was smear campaign against him, orchestrated by government spokesmen and local media. He said that he was being painted as a Tiger sympathiser. The above picture, posted in its website, the Defence Ministry said was proof of such allegations. It said that the picture showed Rock with Tiger sympathisers. Rock has denied any knowledge of the others in the picture and also said that the publicity campaign in Sri Lanka was unlikely to influence his report to the UN Security Council Working Committee, due February 15 -- Photo courtesy: defence.lk

By Amantha Perera

After a month of fighting, the relative calm last week was devilish.

Government forces had gotten down to consolidating newly gained areas from Mankerni to Serunuwara. Additional troops had been brought in from Batticaloa and a police station too has been set up. The military in the area say that if security can be guaranteed, then resettlement might not be a big issue.

They said that most of the public buildings like the two hospitals in Vaharai and Ichchilampathu remain more or less undamaged and can be put to use, so is the case with most of the school buildings. They are also satisfied with the road network and say that they can start a bus service as soon as resettlement begins.

One of the main concerns has been mines, which forces say litter the area. The Tigers however have denied that they spattered Vaharai and its environs with landmines.

Landmines

"There were only a few hours between the time when civilians fled Vaharai area and the LTTE pulled back from Vaharai. Any civilian who was in Vaharai at that time will attest to the fact that no mines were laid anywhere near their homes. Within the few hours before the LTTE pulled back, it is impossible to lay that many mines which would engage the Sri Lankan military in a mine clearance operation," the Tigers said.

The army has deployed special teams to clear the mines since the take over.

The Tigers were quiet, except for three incidents - one at the Colombo harbour, in Ervaur in Batticaloa and another incident that took place deep in Tiger held areas along the Parthana-Mullaitivu road.

The claymore was once again used in Batticaloa on January 31- on a bus carrying troops and policemen and 12 were killed. Soon after the attack more than 50 persons were detained by the armed forces and police for questioning.

Troop transporters have been target in the stretch of road where the attack took place. Mid last year the army was very apprehensive that the troop transporters referred to as the Liberty buses came under attack after a bus carrying a group of LTTErs was attacked between Punnani and Valachchennai.

Attacks

The attack was not a success and only one female Tiger was injured. However thereafter there was evidence that transporters were a target. Troops would clear the road every morning, sometimes through very redumentry devices like probing  the sides of the roads with metal hooks.

Now the claymore has made a comeback. It was the first major attack in the east after the fall of Vaharai. And security forces in the area are now nervous that last week's claymore would not be the last.

The Tigers also lost a senior cadre named Suresh Kumar in the Vishvamadu area, east of Pranthan. Details of the death have not been forthcoming, the Defence Ministry stated in its website on January 30 evening.

Senior Tiger killed

"Intelligence sources confirmed that 10 LTTE cadres including a senior LTTE leader were killed due to the explosion that took place at Vishvamadu in Mullaitivu on Saturday, January 27," the Defence Ministry website said.

"According to the LTTE radio transmission, it is revealed that Nawarathnaraja Suresh Kumar alias Malarawan was the senior LTTE leader who was killed due to this explosion and he held the rank of 'Lt. Col' in the LTTE outfit. It is further revealed that another nine LTTE cadres of the 'Auxiliary Force' including a senior technician were also killed in this incident," it said.

According to the Karuna group, Kumar headed the explosives unit of the Sea Tigers and nine more Tigers died in the incident. The Tigers have said that the incident was an accident but no other details have been made available.

Tigers regrouping

The Tigers have also been regrouping in the Toppigala area and several thousand civilians have already fled the area, fearing that if they remain they might get caught in the fighting.

The ceasefire monitors who have gone back to their district bases still say that they have security issues. Monitors say that violence has been increasing and that they find the security situation still unpredictable.

"It is not like we are a target, but we can be at the wrong place at the wrong time," Spokesperson Thorffinur Omarsson said.

Security for monitors

The monitors raised the issue of security when they met with the LTTE in Kilinochchi last week. Both the government and the Tigers have been giving security guarantees. "We appreciate that," Omarsson said.

Another area of concern has been Vavuniya, where violence has been on the increase. The army also admitted that violence has been on the rise in Vavuniya. The military also said that there was regrouping of the Tigers in the Kilinochchi, something the SLMM said at the beginning of the year.