26 soldiers die as Army launches offensive in Jaffna

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, SEPT. 3. At least 26 soldiers were killed and hundreds wounded when the Sri Lankan Army launched a fresh offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Jaffna peninsula early today.

``The operation was launched this morning and is continuing,'' said the military spokesman, Brigadier Sarath Karunaratne.

He said some 200 soldiers were wounded in the operation. Eyewitness reports from Jaffna said army casualties were being transported in trucks to Palaly air-base, from where they were being evacuated to hospitals in southern Sri Lanka. Late in the evening, residents speaking on the phone said they could hear the sounds of artillery.

This is the Army's first major offensive since the battles earlier this year in which it lost to the LTTE the strategic Elephant Pass garrison on the isthmus connecting the peninsula to the Sri Lankan mainland, as well as territory in southern Jaffna peninsula.

Heavy artillery and recently-acquired bombers of the Sri Lanka Air Force were backing ground troops in the operation, Brig. Karunaratne said. The operation was launched south of Puttur, on the road to Chavakachcheri, in an area near Madduvil.

The state radio Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation announced that the military had recaptured Puttur and Chavakachcheri towns from the LTTE, but army officials here were not able to confirm this.

The operation assumes significance in the light of the coming general elections. It is widely perceived that the LTTE may attempt a military push in Jaffna peninsula before the elections.

A military victory for the LTTE at this time could politically damage the Government, and the present offensive may be a pre- emptive step by the Army, which would keep the LTTE occupied and thereby prevent it from planning any fresh thrust that could embarrass the ruling People's Alliance.

In recent weeks, the Army has also been criticised for not being able to launch any major offensives in the peninsula even after acquiring heavy weapons at great cost to the country.

Responding to the criticism, the commander, Major- General Lionel Balagalle, told a press conference after taking charge last month that the Army was still short of manpower, and that there was no use recapturing territory if it could not be held.

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