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Operation Unceasing Waves: The Mullaitivu Battle.
REPORTS ON ARMED CONFLICT IN TAMIL EELAM
Operation Unceasing Waves: The Mullaitivu Battle.
18 July 1996
The storming and capturing of the Mullaitivu Sri Lankan Army base
was a strategic victory for the Liberation Tigers in several ways.
The LTTE attacked the Mullaitivu camp at a time when the Sri Lankan
government and press were repeatedly claiming that two thirds of the
LTTE's fighting strength had been destroyed in the 'Riviresa'
operations. The attack rocked the Sri Lankan military establishment
and the military correspondents were left speechless as their
predictions were reversed.
The Sri Lankan army base at Mullaitivu covered a vast area and was
bordered by the sea on one side. The camp occupied an area 2900m
long by 1500 wide with a perimeter of 8500m. It had initially been
set up as a smaller camp in the early Eighties. Over subsequent
years, the camp was expanded by forcibly taking over the entire town
of Mullaitivu, which was the administrative centre of the Mullaitivu
district. Indiscriminate artillery fire from the camp had also
forced neighboring villages to be evacuated.
The Liberation Tigers launched their assault at 1.30am on the 18
July, 1996. Mr. Velupillai Pirabakaran had been personally involved
in the planning and coordination of the operation code named
'Unceasing Waves'. As the LTTE commanders had expected, Sri Lankan
relief forces immediately rushed to assist from Vettilaikerni and
Trincomalee, the nearby naval bases. They met stiff resistance from
Sea Tiger units.
After 8 hours of heavy fighting, the Tiger forces reached the centre
of the camp, after overrunning forward defense lines and clusters of
mini-camps. The Tiger units then concentrated on attacking the
artillery sites and armories. These were captured within an hour of
intense fighting.
The attack was paused short of the very heart of the base, which was
the operational head quarters of the 6th Battalion, Wijebahu
Regiment. The LTTE commanders leading the attack were ordered to
regroup their forces and to await nightfall before storming the
central camp.
In the meantime, the Sri Lankans dispatched a few hundred troops in
a rescue operation code named 'Thrivida Pahara'. The troops were
airlifted into Alampil, an area close to the Mullaitivu base. This
effectively forced the Tiger forces to fight on two fronts.
The Tiger units launched a holding attack on the relief force and
concentrated on the central camp. In the evening of July 18, the
entire camp fell to the Tiger forces. At the same time, the Sri
Lankan relief force was surrounded by Tiger Special Forces units.
The Sri Lankans continued to attempt to land more troops to bolster
their relief force commandos. Fresh troops were airlifted by
helicopter into Alampil. On the evening of 19 July, a Sri Lankan
naval craft, the 'Ranaviru' which arrived to establish a supply
line, was attacked by Sea Tigers off the Mullaitivu coast. The
vessel was sunk along with it's entire 40-man crew.
On 20 July, an Mi-17 type helicopter was severely damaged by Tiger
fire. The Sri Lankan's relief mission ground to a standstill. The
Sri Lankan military command changed their strategy, launching an all
out air assault, using Israeli made Kfir and Argentinean Puccara
aircraft.
While these aircraft bombed the surrounding area, the Sri Lankan
navy's Israeli made Dvora fast attack craft attempted to establish a
supply line to the relief force. After meeting heavy resistance from
Sea Tiger units and Tiger anti-aircraft troops, the Sri Lankans were
forced to call off their attempts, after landing only a few more
troops.
Even though the LTTE managed to prevent the enemy from landing more
troops on 22 and 23 July, the Sri Lankan military brought in a more
troops by sea on 25 July. When these relief units realised the
intensity of Tiger resistance and the severity of the situation on
the ground, they linked up with the original relief force and
withdrew. This concluded the battle.
During this successful engagement, the LTTE lost 332 fighters whilst
the Sri Lankan army lost at least 1200 troops including some senior
officers. The Sri Lankans also lost 100 troops from the relief
force. The entire armoury of the Mullaitivu camp, including 120mm
artillery was captured intact.
The entire Mullaitivu district came under LTTE control.
Courtesy: Viduthalai Puligal
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