At 11.14 and 41 seconds on January 2 Army Headquarters flashed a news item which read: "Flash - The  strategic KILINOCHCHI is about to fall at any moment from now onwards, declares the Army Headquarters in Colombo."

A little less than four hours after that the Defence Ministry said that troops were in control of the entire stretch of the A9 from Omanthai to Paranthan, meaning they were in control of the A9 - at least  four to five kilometres - which runs through Killinochchi Town.

"Sri Lanka Army 57 Division troops approaching Killinochchi town from the south have linked up with troops of Task Force 1 advancing from the north this afternoon (January 2). According to the battlefield reports, now the army has established control over the A-9 Road (Jaffna-Kandy) from Omanthai to Paranthan," said a subsequent report.

With the capture of Paranthan by troops from Task Force 1 (TF1), the troops had kept moving south on the A9 Road  and  had captured  Karadipokku junction north of Killinochchi by the evening of January 1.

Intensified assault

Thereafter they had intensified their assault on Killinochchi supported by other divisions from the southern, western and eastern fronts.

"Troops attached to 10 Gajaba Regiment (GR) and 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) battalion are advancing towards Killinochchi from the east of A9 Road whilst troops attached to 12 Gajaba Regiment and 6 Gemunu Watch (GW) battalion are advancing towards Killinochchi Town from the west of A9 Road. 

"Simultaneously, troops  of 57 Division operating from west and south of Killinochchi areas have also continued their advance towards LTTE heartland Killinochchi after gaining total control over the once LTTE stronghold located south of Killinochchi, the Adampan Town.

"The 572 and 571 Brigades are advancing towards the centre of Killinochchi from the west and south west direction and are operating closer to the A-9 Road. Meanwhile troops of 574 Brigade who have gained control over the Iranamadu junction are now operating beyond the junction," the Ministry said on January 2 morning.

Soon after the news flash by the army, audio reports were carried live on state TV. A little over an hour after 11.15, the Defence Ministry said that troops moving from the south had taken control of Killinochchi Railway Station.

"Sri Lanka Army 57 Division troops now in the process of liberating Killinochchi Town have taken control over the Killinochchi Railway Station short while ago (January 2). According to the battlefield reports troops of 571 Brigade led by Lieutenant Colonel Harendra Ranasinghe have beaten off the terrorists from the area in an intense battle."

Counter attack

Soon after troops had reached the railway station there was a counter attack by the Tigers that had been repulsed.

For three days since December 30 heavy fighting had been raging in areas north of the former Tiger political headquarters. During the previous five days before troops entered Killinochchi  heavy fighting had been reported from the area north east of Killinochchi and Paranthan, further north on the A9.

The fighting had commenced on the evening of December 30. Several attempts made earlier in the last month to move south on the Paranthan-Pooneryn road by troops from TF1 were met with stiff resistance with hundreds of casualties on both sides.

But the Defence Ministry said that troops had broken out of areas south of Nivil backed by heavy artillery and mortar fire as 2008 was drawing to an end.

"The battle for Paranthan began in the early hours on Tuesday (30) when the TF-1 armour, artillery and infantry battalions commenced launching a concerted assault on the garrison town while army forward domination elements took on the well fortified LTTE resistance positions during surprise manoeuvres made behind enemy lines."

Several trench lines

The Tigers had reportedly built several trench lines on the Paranthan-Pooneryn Road and on the A9.  But on December 31 troops had reached the Paranthan junction that connects Pooneryn, Killinochchi and Mullaithivu as well as some other minor roads. Troops had moved in with a two pronged assault from the northwest.

"Troops have also cut off the vital access routes towards Paranthan along the A-9 Road from the north and south, reportedly killing over 50 terrorists, while injuring twice as many numbers during the intense battles, military sources said.

"The Paranthan LTTE garrison is strategically located, approximately 4.5 k.m north of Killinochchi along the A-9 trunk route and on the southern sector of Elephant Pass, another LTTE foothold, according to ground troops.

"Troops of the TF-1, commanded by Brigadier Shavendra Silva, entered the Paranthan built-up assisted with close combat air support of SLAF jets and MI-24 helicopter gunships, Wednesday morning (December 31)."

Resistance and counter attacks

"LTTE resistance and counter-attacks were outflanked by the intense military armour attacks and concentrated artillery and mortar fire, the ground troops said. The fighting was fierce and prolonged for hours until the terrorists were completely beaten by the determined soldiers, the sources added.

"LTTE fighting formations mainly from the Imran Pandiyan unit led by its 'Killinochchi-in-charge,' Velavan and Jerom had made successive attempts to gain lost ground only to be left with more casualties and damages."

Calls for a Christmas truce have come and gone and fighting had continued without a break. There was fighting on Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day.  Those clashes however were reported in the Mullaithivu sector.

Soon after the Christmas holiday there were indications that heavy fighting had broken out in the eastern-most corner of the Wanni battle field, south of Mullaithivu. Heavy fighting was reported in the Alampil area, on the southern edge of the Nayaru Lagoon. 

According to the Defence Ministry, troops from the 59th Division were moving on three lines in the area. The Tigers also said that there were heavy clashes during the last weekend of 2008 and later handed over 16 bodies to the army through the ICRC.

 Moving into Muliyaweli

Last week the Defence Ministry said that troops were moving into the Muliyaweli area that lies south west of Mullaithivu.

"Heavy clashes have been reported between army infantrymen and the terrorists in the north of Muliyaweli from 9 a.m to 2.30 p.m on Monday (December 29) as the troops extended their forward boundaries further northwards. Intercepted terrorist radio transmissions have confirmed heavy damage to the terrorists during these clashes.

"Meanwhile, troops of 592 Brigade operating in the western flank of the 593 Brigade have made further headway on their flanking movement. Infantrymen of 12 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (12 SLLI) and the 14 Gajaba Regiment (14 GR) attacked terrorist groups in the north of Karurelankandal and Kulamuripu areas during daytime yesterday as they extended their forward boundaries further northwards of the A-34 Road (Mankulam-Mullaithivu).

"Troops of 591 Brigade engaged in a northward move along the Alampil- Mullaithivu Road confronted a group of terrorists in the South of Chilawatte area around 9, last morning," the Ministry said on December 30 calling the move a "shocking manoeuvre on the battlefield dragging the LTTE further closer to its certain defeat."

Shift in focus

In fact the Ministry had indicated the focus had shifted from Killinochchi to Mullaithivu just days before troops moved into Killinochchi.  "The strategic focus of the Wanni counter terrorist operation shifted from the Killinochchi front to the Mullaithivu front once troops gained total control over the western shores of the island.

"At present, LTTE terrorists are mainly confined to a triangular shaped area edged by the A-9 road from the west, A-34 road from the south and the northeastern coastal belt stretching from Mullaithivu to Nagarkovil."

If troops gain access and control of Muliyaweli troops are likely to run into one of the main assets developed by the Tigers - the Muliyaweli runway close to the coast.

According to the article in the Jane's Defence Weekly, the runway was first cleared and constructed between late 2006 and October 2007. It was originally 1000 m. long and 30 m. wide, but latest satellite imagery has shown that it was being lengthened by another 1000 m., making it the fourth longest runway in the country after Katunayake, Palaly and China Bay.

The Muliyaweli runway

The runway has been bombed and repaired in 2007 and 2008. The Muliyaweli runway,  according to the satellite imagery is longer than Iranamadu, which was one of the reasons that the article concluded that the Tigers were paving longer runways to allow larger planes to use them for gun running. There has been evidence to suggest that either Iranamadu or Muliyaweli have been used by the Zlins.

Interestingly however it was over Muliyaweli that the airforce reported shooting down a Tiger aircraft after the September 9 air and ground attack on the Wanni Defence Headquarters at Vavuniya.

The two Tiger aircraft had taken a north-eastern route towards Mullaithivu after the attack and one of the airforce F 7 aircraft that was airborne had reported a radar lock and a missile being fired at the Zlin. The Tiger aircraft had thereafter exploded according to the airforce.

The Tigers said that all their aircraft returned safely after the attack and no images of the wreckage have been located or photographed from above.

Later on some unconfirmed reports said that civilians fleeing the area had spoken of a fire ball falling from the skies and the Tigers had cordoned off the area and prevented the civilians from leaving.

Rumours in the area had even said that one of the two in the cockpit of the aircraft was a Caucasian. The location of the crash was given as a school on the Iranapalai-Puthukuduiruppu (PTK)  Road.

The Defence Ministry last week said that the troops had entered the jungle areas between Muliyaweli and PTK.