Sri Lankan military bogged down in northern offensives against the LTTE
[Mar 6, 2008, 07:04], [WSWS]
The euphoria in the Sri Lankan government and military over the prospects of a quick victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is beginning to fade. While the security forces regularly report the killing of LTTE members, little progress appears to have been made in seizing the LTTE?s major northern strongholds in the Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts.On December 30, Army Commander, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, bragged to the Sunday Observer that ?the LTTE could not prevent losing their remaining 3,000 cadres and there is no assurance that the LTTE Leader V. Prabhakaran would survive for the next six months?. The Sri Lankan military is under pressure from Rajapakse to deliver a quick victory. His government, an unstable coalition of 13 parties, confronts growing popular discontent over the economic impact of the war, which is helping to fuel inflation and undermine living standards. Rajapakse needs success stories to boost his chauvinist appeals and to dispel fears in ruling circles of an inconclusive and protracted war that will inevitably fuel an economic and political crisis.
104 SF Killed 822 Injured in February; Intense Fighting Continues in North of Sri Lanka
[Mar 5, 2008, 19:09], [TNS]
Killinochchi - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan security forces (SF) clashed in Manalaaru area when SF troopers tried to advance into the LTTE held area using tanks, heavy artillery and mortars. LTTE repulsed the attacks, according rebel sources. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, health minister and the government's chief negotiator with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told the Sri Lankan parliament that, some 104 soldiers and police officers were killed and at least 822 SF troopers were wounded in February alone due the fights between government troops and the Tamil Tigers, but the government's military campaign has yielded results.
[Mar 6, 2008, 07:04], [WSWS]
The euphoria in the Sri Lankan government and military over the prospects of a quick victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is beginning to fade. While the security forces regularly report the killing of LTTE members, little progress appears to have been made in seizing the LTTE?s major northern strongholds in the Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts.On December 30, Army Commander, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, bragged to the Sunday Observer that ?the LTTE could not prevent losing their remaining 3,000 cadres and there is no assurance that the LTTE Leader V. Prabhakaran would survive for the next six months?. The Sri Lankan military is under pressure from Rajapakse to deliver a quick victory. His government, an unstable coalition of 13 parties, confronts growing popular discontent over the economic impact of the war, which is helping to fuel inflation and undermine living standards. Rajapakse needs success stories to boost his chauvinist appeals and to dispel fears in ruling circles of an inconclusive and protracted war that will inevitably fuel an economic and political crisis.
104 SF Killed 822 Injured in February; Intense Fighting Continues in North of Sri Lanka
[Mar 5, 2008, 19:09], [TNS]
Killinochchi - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan security forces (SF) clashed in Manalaaru area when SF troopers tried to advance into the LTTE held area using tanks, heavy artillery and mortars. LTTE repulsed the attacks, according rebel sources. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, health minister and the government's chief negotiator with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told the Sri Lankan parliament that, some 104 soldiers and police officers were killed and at least 822 SF troopers were wounded in February alone due the fights between government troops and the Tamil Tigers, but the government's military campaign has yielded results.
