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LTTE-held town in our hands: Army

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military on Friday claimed to have “gained total control” over the LTTE-administered Karukkakulama town area, located North West of Parappakandal in Mannar.

The Defence Ministry said troops advanced into the town after “concentrated armour and artillery shell attacks at LTTE”.

“Army infantrymen made swift incursions into the LTTE strongpoint and captured 1.6km of land stretch.”

It said one soldier and at least 15 LTTE cadres died in the fighting. The military in recent weeks has claimed to have made gains in the Mannar district including the capture of the Madu church.

The U.S. Country Report on Terrorism has charged that the LTTE continued to finance itself with contributions from the Tamil Diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia,through local “taxes” on businesses it dominates and reportedly through extortions in the government-controlled areas.

It said approximately 5,000 persons were killed and thousands more displaced as the conflict escalated. “The Sri Lankan government took effective control of the Eastern Province in midyear, but the LTTE continued to control much of the north and carried out attacks throughout the country. The Sri Lankan Army remained deployed across the country in all areas it controlled to fight the insurgency.”

The report said the Karuna faction was also responsible for extrajudicial killings and attacks against the LTTE and its alleged civilian supporters in the east. “Sri Lankan cooperation with the FBI resulted in arrests of persons charged with material support to terrorist groups. The U.S. provided training for relevant Sri Lankan government agencies and the banking sector. The Government of Sri Lanka cooperated with the United States to implement both the Container Security Initiative and the Megaports program at the port of Colombo.”

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