Former Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe has said the Sri Lankan military offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will be over by the end of this month.
In fact, Wickremasinghe gave a date and said the offensive would be over by November 26. He also maintained that Colombo was moving towards a power sharing deal with the Tamils.
Wickremasinghe, on a visit to India told CNN-IBN, that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the country that the military offensive against the LTTE will be concluded on November 26 but that political parties in the country want a political solution to the conflict on the basis of power sharing.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan troops on Monday made further inroads into LTTE strongholds and captured the strategic town of Mankulam just adjacent to their prized goal of Kilinochchi as reports said a worried LTTE was sending its top commanders to the battlefront.
Government troops backed by fighter jets also seized Kumalamunai near the other strong LTTE base of Mulaitivu, a military spokesman said.
However, the LTTE claimed they had beaten back an attempt by Lankan troops to breach the new LTTE defence line at Muhamalai in the Jaffna Peninsula killing 20 soldiers.
Confirming the capture of Mankulam, a military spokesman said that with this the vital supply lines of the beleaguered LTTE cadres inside the Kilinochchi town had been snapped.
With the capture of the new town, the Sri Lankan forces have recaptured three strategic towns which have been under Tiger sway for over long.
Apparently, stuck by recent spate of reverses, the LTTE according to sources in the rebel-held areas have sent experienced and senior commanders to lead their forces in defending areas still held by them.
Some of the top commanders identified as, Jerry, Muhundan, Kadalparidi, Puhalendi and Sendeer are now assisting LTTE fighters in the Northern battlefront.
Sri Lankan infantry's relentless push deep into the Tiger areas is being assisted by heavy carpet bombing by air Force Kfir fighter and MI-24 gunships.
Before entering the Manakulam town, Lankan troops sent commando groups to cut off a stretch of the Mankulama-Oddusudan main road on Sunday.
LTTE rebels also suffered reverses and suffered heavy damage as its cadres are now caught between advancing troops and forces already entrenched in the Jaffna area.
According to Jaffna military sources, troops have also destroyed parts of the LTTE constructed earth bund-cum-ditch defences, with some forward elements gaining control over some parts of the defences along the bund-line, the officials said.
Army has also deployed the mechanized infantry battalion in support of the rear defences, it said quoting sources.
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In fact, Wickremasinghe gave a date and said the offensive would be over by November 26. He also maintained that Colombo was moving towards a power sharing deal with the Tamils.
Wickremasinghe, on a visit to India told CNN-IBN, that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the country that the military offensive against the LTTE will be concluded on November 26 but that political parties in the country want a political solution to the conflict on the basis of power sharing.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan troops on Monday made further inroads into LTTE strongholds and captured the strategic town of Mankulam just adjacent to their prized goal of Kilinochchi as reports said a worried LTTE was sending its top commanders to the battlefront.
Government troops backed by fighter jets also seized Kumalamunai near the other strong LTTE base of Mulaitivu, a military spokesman said.
However, the LTTE claimed they had beaten back an attempt by Lankan troops to breach the new LTTE defence line at Muhamalai in the Jaffna Peninsula killing 20 soldiers.
Confirming the capture of Mankulam, a military spokesman said that with this the vital supply lines of the beleaguered LTTE cadres inside the Kilinochchi town had been snapped.
With the capture of the new town, the Sri Lankan forces have recaptured three strategic towns which have been under Tiger sway for over long.
Apparently, stuck by recent spate of reverses, the LTTE according to sources in the rebel-held areas have sent experienced and senior commanders to lead their forces in defending areas still held by them.
Some of the top commanders identified as, Jerry, Muhundan, Kadalparidi, Puhalendi and Sendeer are now assisting LTTE fighters in the Northern battlefront.
Sri Lankan infantry's relentless push deep into the Tiger areas is being assisted by heavy carpet bombing by air Force Kfir fighter and MI-24 gunships.
Before entering the Manakulam town, Lankan troops sent commando groups to cut off a stretch of the Mankulama-Oddusudan main road on Sunday.
LTTE rebels also suffered reverses and suffered heavy damage as its cadres are now caught between advancing troops and forces already entrenched in the Jaffna area.
According to Jaffna military sources, troops have also destroyed parts of the LTTE constructed earth bund-cum-ditch defences, with some forward elements gaining control over some parts of the defences along the bund-line, the officials said.
Army has also deployed the mechanized infantry battalion in support of the rear defences, it said quoting sources.
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