OPERATION LIBERATION
Battle of Vakarai - January 19, 2007
The Sri Lankan military announced that the capture of Vakarai, a coastal town of eastern Batticaloa District on January 19, 2007. The military has accused the LTTE of using civilians in the Vakarai Hospital as a human shield and also using the hospital premises as an artillery launching pad.
The SLA’s battle to take Vakarai (Vaakare) lasted nearly three months from October 30, 2006 to January 15, 2007. Vakarai is a coastal city in the Batticaloa District where the LTTE had clamped their civil administration and police for some time.
As per Sri Lankan military sources, the military operation launched to gain the area of Vakarai from the LTTE was conducted in two phases. The first phase was to facilitate the movement of civilians into the area under the Sri Lankan Army (SLA).
The Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the SLA infiltrated the area under the LTTE, and launched surprise attacks on them. This tactic caused the LTTE to engage with the SLA instead of holding the civilians (hostages) from fleeing into the SLA control zone.
The phase-II started on December 4, 2006 where the SLA troops advanced in three fronts from Trikonamadu, Kirimichchiya, Kadjuwatte and cleared off 15 km into the Trikonamadu jungle. During this action, the LTTE targets at Kaddamuravikulam, Karuvappanchenai and Madurankernikulam were destroyed. The second advance of SLA started on the December 9, 2006 from Mahindapura Southwards and captured LTTE camps around Echchalanpaththuwa area. The third and fourth advances of SLA started on the December 10, 2006 from Trikonamadu and Kadjuwatta onwards.
Battle of Ampara Kanjikudichchi Aru - January 2007
The military operation to consolidate the government’s control of Amparai, code named as “Operation Definite Victory” took place in the Ampara District, in the Lahugala Jungles. The Special Task Force also known as the STF was involved in the operation that captured the Kanjikudichchi Aru LTTE military complex during the first week of January 2007.
STF troops captured around 20 LTTE camps including major bases such as Janak, Stanley and the Jeevan base. These complexes provided infrastructure for the LTTE military cadres in the area.
After capturing large infrastructure facility of the LTTE, the STF troops found a truck and a motorcycle packed with explosives. The military believed that these items were prepared for a suicide attack in Colombo. The STF also recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition, coffins, anti-personnel mines, radio receivers, global positioning systems, power generators, boats with name and logo of the NGO “Save the Children,” tents with the logo of “UNHCR,” and a fully equipped hospital named by the Tigers as Thileepan Memorial Hospital donated by a Dutch INGO named ZOA Refugee Care.
Battle of Thoppigala -
April 25, 2007
Capture of LTTE bases – June 19, 2007
During the period of June 8-9, 2007 Sri Lankan Army captured four LTTE military bases at Ibbanwila, Akkarathivu, Mawadi-ode, and Veppanveli in Pankudavaella north, and Naarakmulla, south of the Thoppigala area. During the confrontation, around 30 LTTE cadres and one SLA personnel died. The SLA captured six Multi Purpose Machine Guns (MPMG), 21 T-56 assault rifles, four Rocket Propeller Grenade (RPG) launchers, and a large quantity of Anti Personnel (AP) mines and Ammunition.
On June 19, 2007 three LTTE satellite camps east of Narakkamulla in the Thoppigala area were completely destroyed by the SLA. As per military sources around 25-30 LTTE were killed and a large quantity of anti-personnel mines (APMs) and other military equipment were captured.