International

Sri Lankan forces better equipped now: army chief

V.S. Sambandan

Remarks come amid escalation in violence in Jaffna peninsula

Outgoing army chief of Sri Lanka Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda (right) with his successor Lt. Gen. S. Fonseka in Colombo on Monday. — PHOTO: Sriyantha Walpola

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's outgoing army commander, Shantha Kottegoda, on Monday said the armed forces are "better equipped" than they were when the ceasefire agreement was signed between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2002.

He was of the view that the LTTE was "weakened" after last year's rebellion by its former special commander, V. Muralitharan (`Col.' Karuna). The LTTE, he said, currently had a "depleted" number of cadres with "low morale".

Expressing confidence that the army would be able to handle the current situation, Lt. Gen. Kottegoda said: "I am very confident that our troops can fight and defeat them [the LTTE]." However, he emphasised the Tigers retained their strike capability and "may resort to more hit-and-run style attacks" to ensure "cadre retention". He emphasised the importance of resuming peace negotiations. His remarks come against the backdrop of a sharp escalation in violence in the northern Jaffna peninsula, which was scarred by several grenade attacks in the past three days.

"Civilian militia"

Nine soldiers have been killed since Friday in grenade attacks and gunfire by suspected LTTE cadres. The Government has described the northern and eastern violence in the past few days as "provocative" and "pre-planned terrorist attacks" by the LTTE.

A former militant attributed the recent northern violence to the newly-created "civilian militia" of the LTTE.

On Monday, police burst teargas shells to disperse a 200-strong crowd in Point Pedro in Jaffna.

Army sources said the crowd, comprising students and civilians, were protesting against the construction of an earthen bund by security forces.

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