Fall of Vedithalthivu

• Troops push further northwards as Tigers prepare for showdown in Thunukkai

By Ranga Jayasuriya

Few in military circles believed that the Tiger cadres would give up Vedithalthivu, the main sea Tiger base in the north western coast without a fight. Not long ago that a senior -most commander in the military acknowledged that a swift assault on the sea Tiger base would cost 200 troops and an equal number of Tiger combatants. Therefore, the military strategy was to encircle the Sea Tiger camp, cut off the supply routes and forces the defending cadres to vacate the camp.
By Thursday, that strategy appeared to have worked out. The reports from the Mannar front revealed that the Tiger cadres were deserting the Sea Tiger Base. But, the pull out appeared to have been pre-organized. According to senior military sources citing intelligence reports, the sea Tigers had moved boats to Pooneryn. A boat was found abandoned in the deserted sea Tiger base, which functioned as the main launching pad of the sea Tigers in the north western coast.
True to its strategic importance, the Vedithalthivu Sea Tiger Base was heavily fortified. A trench was built from 2 km south of Vedithalthivu on the coast to Paramarayankulam, which is located 10km east of Vedithalthivu. That trench line functioned as the primary defence of the sea Tiger base. This defence line had been fortified with eight feet high sand dunes and the vicinity of the camp and its access routes had been heavily mined with anti personnel mines and booby traps.

Bunkers

Inside the trench line aka primary defence line, the secondary defence line was located. Bunkers had been built in close proximity to each other and battle hardened Tiger cadres of the Charles Anthony Brigade had been assigned to front line duties.
Vedithalthivu had been under the control of the LTTE since the departure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in 1990. In 1999, the security forces engaged in operation Ranagosa and attempted to seize control of the sea Tiger base, but in vain.
The military operation to capture the Vedithalthivu base gathered momentum after the clearing of the Rice Bowl area of the size of 152 km2. With the capture of the Rice Bowl area, the security forces succeeded cutting off the supply routes to the Vedithalthivu sea Tiger base. On June 30, the two military divisions - 57 and 58 Divisions- who are inching into the Tiger hinterland of the Wanni linked up in Pallaimadu, west of Vedithalthivu.
Early this month, 10 Gajaba Regiment and 12 Gajaba Regiment attached to the 581 Brigade began to advance further northwards from 12th mile post on the A 32 Pooneryn Sangupiddy- Mannar road. The two battalions were supported by the fifth armoured corps.
On the southern flank, troops of 6 and 8 Gemunu Watch pushed further northwards. From the eastern direction, two other battalions - 9 GW and 12 GW- advanced towards the sea Tiger base. Second commando regiment was deployed in small teams to engage in reconnaissance duties, ambushes and sabotage attacks on the enemy logistics. Some military officials told this writer that the Tigers appeared to have believed that the defences in
the Vedithalthivu base were impregnable for the moment. Yet, on July 3, three small groups of four -man commando teams shattered the perceived impregnability of the camp. This swift assault during which four commandos lost lives had been a turn around in the battle for Vedithalthivu. The capture of about 200 meters of the southern perimeter defence of the camp killing at least 28 cadres- according to figures provided by the Army- had been the prelude to a series of daring small group operations which were to dominate the Mannar front during the last two weeks.
For the first two weeks of this month, commandos operating in small teams had been carrying out surprise attacks on selected strategic locations in the LTTE defence line. Small groups of commandos approached the camp in every direction, mainly conducting reconnaissance missions on the LTTE build- up in the area.
One such group, code named the Alpha team attacked a group of Tiger cadres killing seven. Five bodies of the slain Tiger cadres were retrieved by the commandos. Two other teams, each consisting of eight commandos approached the Tiger base from the direction of Paramarayankulam tank and Uvilanundiya Aru.
Both teams reached their assault positions by Tuesday. Based on information provided by the commandos, the army bombarded the identified LTTE positions using multi barrel rocket launchers and artillery guns. By Tuesday noon, the LTTE began to pull out from the camp.
Based on information provided by the Delta team which was engaged in reconnaissance operations, the army bombarded a team of about 150 Tiger cadres who were on a hasty withdrawal from the camp.The Tiger contingent came under ground and air attack as they were moving through a Teak jungle located in Thaddampiddi.
By Wednesday, troops monitored the Tigers pulling out. Water tanks which supplied water to the main sea Tiger base were blown up in the morning. Commandos ambushed two Lorries which were heading to the Tiger camp, apparently to transport military hardware from the besieged camp.
By Wednesday noon, the troops were in control of the Vedithalthivu town and the sea Tiger base.
As troops closed in on the sea Tiger base, Tigers moved their boats to Pooneryn.

Capture

The MI 24 attack helicopters were called in to target the sea Tiger boats. Fighter jets of the Sri Lanka Air Force also conducted several sorties against another sea Tiger camp located in Vallaipadu, north of Vedithalthivu
The only casualty in the military mission was Lance Cpl Kumara of the Delta team of the 2 commando regiment. He was caught in a booby trap as he stormed an LTTE bunker. On Thursday, Army Headquarters announced the capture of the Vedithalthivu sea Tiger base.
Vedithalthivu, located 20 km from Mannar is the main sea Tiger base in the North Western coast, which also functioned as a smuggling hub for arms and ammunition from Tamil Nadu and earlier from the ships anchored in the Arabian Sea.
Last month, sea Tigers staged a surprise attack on a naval outpost in Mannar. Sea Tiger boats were launched from Vedithalthivu.
By the end of last week, troops were advancing towards Illupakadawai. The air force carried out several raids in LTTE positions in the area.
Further northwards, the 57the Division of the army is pushing towards Thunukkai. Thunukkai, which is also the entrance to the Tiger- stronghold of Mallavi, would like to be the next flash point in the Wanni front.