ID :
22784
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 06:15
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22784
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Prabhakaran may flee restive northern region:Lankan Army chief
Colombo, Oct 5 (PTI) Not ruling out the possibility of V.
Prabhakaran fleeing the embattled north as troops advance into the rebel-held territory, Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka has said the L.T.T.E. supremo could not survive from his hideouts for long.
"If Prabhakaran has a wee bit of brains left in him he
should give up the battle now. He will soon realise that
fighting with us is useless. Otherwise he has to remain in
fighting, sacrificing over 20 to 30 L.T.T.E. cadres daily
while constructing more graves to honour the dead cadres,"
Fonseka told the state-run 'The Sunday Observer' newspaper.
On whether the Tiger leader will try to escape, Fonseka
said "yes, he can escape."
"But I do not know whether he can just escape leaving his
cadres and people at this stage. But as a person who loves his
life more than anything he is not going to sit and die."
Prabhakaran "will disguise and flee to somewhere," the
army chief said, adding "the L.T.T.E. might have various
connections with all terrorist groups in the world and some
would lend a helping hand for him."
The army chief claimed the L.T.T.E. has lost about 11,000
cadres during the last two years and said the troops moved 60
kilometres deep into the Tiger stronghold of Wanni since March
2007.
"The L.T.T.E. is now left with 4,000 cadres and they can
conscript more, but how long can they do that?" Fonseka said.
"This is a decisive period of the L.T.T.E. and Prabhakaran
needs to decide not only his fate, but also the fate of his
cadres soon."
The army commander said the Sri Lankan Air Force had the
wherewithal to hit at the bunkers where Prabhakaran may be
hiding.
If the security forces capture the rebel stronghold of
Kilinochchi, Prabhakaran would have to live just like another
refugee, Fonseka said.
"The hideouts for Prabhakaran are shrinking now as the
Air Force is successfully destroying his bases," he said.
"The military wants Wanni people to abandon him and the
L.T.T.E. When the troops start advancing from Nachchikuda, the
falling of Kilinochchi and Paranthan is unavoidable. Then, he
(Prabhakaran) and his cadres will be pushed more into
Mullaithivu, their very last resort," Fonseka said.
The Air Force has the capacity of destroying bunkers over
40 metres down, he said. "So I do not think Prabhakaran can
survive (from) any of the underground hideouts. The L.T.T.E.
now cannot keep their artillery and mortar positions in
Kilinochchi."
"If Prabhakaran feels for his life abandoning his people
it will show what his motive is. If he is the so-called
saviour of the Tamils he must remain with his people and face
the situation or let innocent Tamils find their freedom,"
Fonseka told the newspaper.
Prabhakaran fleeing the embattled north as troops advance into the rebel-held territory, Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka has said the L.T.T.E. supremo could not survive from his hideouts for long.
"If Prabhakaran has a wee bit of brains left in him he
should give up the battle now. He will soon realise that
fighting with us is useless. Otherwise he has to remain in
fighting, sacrificing over 20 to 30 L.T.T.E. cadres daily
while constructing more graves to honour the dead cadres,"
Fonseka told the state-run 'The Sunday Observer' newspaper.
On whether the Tiger leader will try to escape, Fonseka
said "yes, he can escape."
"But I do not know whether he can just escape leaving his
cadres and people at this stage. But as a person who loves his
life more than anything he is not going to sit and die."
Prabhakaran "will disguise and flee to somewhere," the
army chief said, adding "the L.T.T.E. might have various
connections with all terrorist groups in the world and some
would lend a helping hand for him."
The army chief claimed the L.T.T.E. has lost about 11,000
cadres during the last two years and said the troops moved 60
kilometres deep into the Tiger stronghold of Wanni since March
2007.
"The L.T.T.E. is now left with 4,000 cadres and they can
conscript more, but how long can they do that?" Fonseka said.
"This is a decisive period of the L.T.T.E. and Prabhakaran
needs to decide not only his fate, but also the fate of his
cadres soon."
The army commander said the Sri Lankan Air Force had the
wherewithal to hit at the bunkers where Prabhakaran may be
hiding.
If the security forces capture the rebel stronghold of
Kilinochchi, Prabhakaran would have to live just like another
refugee, Fonseka said.
"The hideouts for Prabhakaran are shrinking now as the
Air Force is successfully destroying his bases," he said.
"The military wants Wanni people to abandon him and the
L.T.T.E. When the troops start advancing from Nachchikuda, the
falling of Kilinochchi and Paranthan is unavoidable. Then, he
(Prabhakaran) and his cadres will be pushed more into
Mullaithivu, their very last resort," Fonseka said.
The Air Force has the capacity of destroying bunkers over
40 metres down, he said. "So I do not think Prabhakaran can
survive (from) any of the underground hideouts. The L.T.T.E.
now cannot keep their artillery and mortar positions in
Kilinochchi."
"If Prabhakaran feels for his life abandoning his people
it will show what his motive is. If he is the so-called
saviour of the Tamils he must remain with his people and face
the situation or let innocent Tamils find their freedom,"
Fonseka told the newspaper.
