LTTE USES REMOVED ARTILLERY
GUNS FROM SAMPOOR TO ATTACK MAVIL ARU ANICUT ONCE AGAIN FROM KADIRAVEL
AND VERUGAL : 2 SOLDIERS DEAD
By Walter Jayawardhana
The terrorists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who fled from
Sampoorr have started an attack on the Mavil Aru irrigation sluice
gates again, the Sri Lanka Army announced.
The army said since the constant supply of water to the 30,000 farming
families is considered a high priority item all efforts to protect
the irrigation system would be taken.
The attack that started by noon from the jungles of Verugal and Kadiravel,
close to Mavil Aru, September 6 has already killed two soldiers of
the Sri Lanka Army , Army spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe
said. He said in the attack on Sampoor many artillery guns were destroyed.
But the spokesman said one or two guns had been dismantled and transported
to Kadiravel and Verugal and they were being used to attack Mavil
Aru.
He said ten injured soldiers have been admitted to Kanthale hospital
and few others have received OPD treatment and retuned to service.
The present military conflict was originally started by the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam by illegally closing down the sluice gates of
the Mavil Aru irrigation canal destroying about 15,000 acres of rice
fields and depriving farmers of drinking water.
When the world public opinion rose against them, with the cooperation
of the then head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Ulf Henricsson
the terrorists of the LTTE attempted to reopen the irrigation canal
in a sinister move to keep the canal in their hands. But the Sri Lanka
Army did not allow it and went on working to re-open it and keep it
under control of the Sri Lanka government.
The army said they wanted to keep it under the irrigation department
as it had been always managed. Just hours before the army opened it,
with the collaboration with a handful of reporters who were not present
at the irrigation canal the terrorist group declared that they opened
it. The BBC Sinhala Service, the Associated Press and the Lanka Academic
who did not have reporters at the irrigation canal declared the terrorist
group opened the sluice gates, giving them a public relations victory.
The Sri Lanka Army said in a statement that they would retaliate
strongly against the
attacking terrorists to guarantee the continuous supply of water to
the farmers.
The Security Forces retaliation has caused heavy damages to the terrorists,
they said.
There are no independent figures as to the casualties of the LTTE
in the attacks on Mavil Aru.
It was asked from the army spokesman, by the BBC Sinhala Service whether
there had been clashes between the Karuna group and the LTTE at Kandukurichci
Aru. Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said he was not aware about any
particular group but he had heard some reports about clashes between
a breakaway group and the LTTE at that place close to Ampara.
Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the threat of mortars and artillery
fire to Muttur has been removed due to the defeat of the terrorists
at Sampoor. And people have been going back to their homes now.
He said the army is busy removing the land mines of the LTTE from
Sampoor. When the job was finished the civilians mostly Tamils, could
come and resettle themselves in the former military garrison town
of the LTTE
