wo-thirds of LTTE manpower lost: Sri Lankan Army Chief

T. V. Sriram


Colombo, Jul 19 (PTI) Claiming that nearly two-thirds of
the LTTE manpower and land area have been lost, Sri Lankan
Army chief Sarath Fonseka has said the security forces were
moving in swiftly in the war with the rebels, forcing them
even to abandon their vehicles.

"The LTTE has now lost nearly two thirds of its manpower
and land area to the security forces...," Fonseka told
reporters.

"The LTTE capability-wise has got depleted to a larger
extent. Areas will start collapsing at one stage, now their
strength is getting depleted and they have started to leave
their vehicles behind.

"(In the) last one week we recovered three LTTE vehicles.
I don't think the Army had ever recovered LTTE vehicles in the
past," he said Friday in Kandy, about 115 kms. from Colombo.

The Army Commander made the remarks after paying homage
to the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Sri Dalada Maligawa and
visiting the Buddhist religious leaders Malwatte and Asgiriya
Prelates to receive their blessings.

Fonseka said the LTTE, now restricted to a small area in
the two northern districts, were "fighting with the advancing
security forces using nearly 200,000 innocent Tamils as human
shields."

The security forces have achieved many "major" victories
against the LTTE fighters during the last two years and "they
will be able to claim total victory...," he claimed.

The LTTE, which has been "severely weakened", was now
engaged in "recruiting innocent children and Tamil elders to
its ranks in a last ditch attempt," he said.


"...Every week we move about three kilometres (inside the
rebel-held territory) unlike in the past," Fonseka said.

Replying to a question, he said he would not like to give
an exact time frame for capturing the rebel locations.

"But at the rate the LTTE losing their cadres they have
got weakened. .... So we will see the way things are
happening," he said.

The army chief said during the last few months LTTE
"forcibly" recruited 3,000 cadres.

"Then they deployed their political cadres and those who
were serving in the police have also been deployed in the
battlefront after providing them with weapon training. Then it
is justifiable they (LTTE) still have a 5,000 strength," he
said.