We'll fight to the finish, says Sri Lankan General

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, MAY 20. The overall commander of the security forces in northern Sri Lanka said today his troops in the embattled Jaffna peninsula were determined to fight it out ``to the last man''.

Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera told a private TV channel troops there was no question of withdrawing soldiers from the peninsula and that they would never allow the LTTE to recapture Jaffna.

His statement came as the Army and the LTTE were reported to be locked in intense combat this morning in the Tannankillappu sector, south of Chavakachcheri. Heavy fighting was reported also from Chavakachcheri, the second biggest town after Jaffna in the peninsula.

A Government statement said ``intense fighting'' broke out in Tannankillappu as ``large numbers'' of LTTE cadres attempted to penetrate troop defences this morning.

But it claimed to have thwarted the attack using special ``counter-penetration'' forces supported by heavy and medium artillery that caused ``many casualties'' among the Tigers. Troops recovered 17 bodies of LTTE cadres, the statement said.

The Government reported nine soldiers killed in the confrontation, and 19 including two officers, wounded.

Denying a claim by the LTTE that its artillery had crippled operations at Palaly air base and Kankesanthurai harbour, the Government said the Air Force and the Navy were maintaining regular supply of all essentials to Jaffna through these two points.

It said wounded soldiers were being evacuated from the air base to hospitals in the capital and Anuradhapura in central Sri Lanka.

Newspaper banned

Meanwhile, Jaffna's Tamil newspaper and its only local publication, Uthayan, was banned from today. A statement from the Government Censor, Mr. Ariya Rubesinghe, accused the newspaper of ``continuously publishing information... prejudicial to the interests of national security'' and ``violating the prevailing censorship regulations''.

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