LTTE’s toy submarines and coordinated patrolling with SL Navy

By Walter Jayawardhana

INDIAN NAVY OFFICER TALKS ABOUT LTTE’S TOY SUBMARINES AND CORDINATED PATROLS WITH SRI LANKA NAVY

Assistant Chief of Indian Naval Staff Rear Admiral Pradeep Chauhan called the reported submarines of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as ‘toy submarines’ and dismissed the suggestion that they could do any harm to the Indian Navy.

When reporters asked him whether there was any threat from those LTTE submersible vehicles he totally rejected any underwater threat from the Sri Lankan terrorist group and referring to the terrorist groups’ reported attempt to make a submarine said, “You cannot develop submarines from do it yourself manuals.”

He was obviously referring to the LTTE supporters trying to buy submarine manufacturing software last year in the United States before they got caught in a sting operation. During the sting operation perhaps the most intriguing item sought was advanced submarine design software. The LTTE has always had a strong penchant for seafaring activities. Submarines would allow them to expand their smuggling efforts and be a new mode of terror attack, it has been visualized, reportedly.

The Tamil Tiger midget submarines have been described as just slightly submersible only few feet under the surface of the water and extremely slow moving. The senior Naval official did not show any sort of respect for the kind of submersible crude vehicles the LTTE was manufacturing and are called “midget submarines.” He said, "With toy subs you can go for a kilometre and see coral reefs. Nothing else is possible unless they are going to war with sea urchins."

Rear Admiral Chauhan said the Indian navy couls easily frustrate any LTTE attempt to attack its ships. But the LTTE’s attempt is not to employ the crude submarines as attack vehicles but to use them as vehicles to transport weapons and narcotics drugs without being seen by any watchful eyes in the sea.

At a press briefing in New Delhi Chauhan also mentioned about the kind of patrols the Indian Navy is going to do with the Sri lankan Navy and said they are not going to be joint patrols but coordinated patrols. In this kind of patroling both navies will patrol in their own waters but will cordinate and communicate each other regarding informations. But they would not be patroling together, he said. But in the Indian waters the Indian navy would do joint patrolling with the Indian Coast Guard, Chauhan said.

Such coordinated patrolling has been necessitated by the constant and illegal smuggling activities conducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of weapons, warlike material and drugs during the last many months.

Powered by Post2Blog Express

LTTE mortar fire kills 8 and injures 18 civilians in two villages

By Walter Jayawardhana

EIGHT CIVILIANS WERE KILLED AND EIGHTEEN OTHER CIVILIANS INJURED BY LTTE MORTAR FIRE FROM THOPPIGALA

In an obvious attempt to create panic and confusion and make civilian run leaving their settlements Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) targeted two villages in the Eastern Province and killed eight people including two young children and injuring 18 other civilians the Sri Lanka Army sources said.

The civilians were killed in Morakottanchena and Karadiyanaru villages during the night of of March 29 by mortar fire allegedly originating from the LTTE positions in Thoppigala area.

"They have fired at two villages. Only in the morning we have entered the area and we found eight people killed, including a 1-1/2-year-old and 7-year-old, both of them girls," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.

After the Tamil Tigers were evicted from about 230 square mile area in recent months some of them have regrouped in the jungle strip of Thoppigala East of the Batticaloa town and creating the mayhem, Samarasinghe said.

In retaliation the Sri Lanka security forces have surrounded the Thoppigala area to choke the Tamil Tigers of supplies and preventing them from leaving or entering the area.

The mortar fire that started about 7.30 p.m. on March 29 also hit Sittandi and Sandiliveli villages. The villagers told the army that they were just getting ready to sleep after supper when mortar shells started hitting their houses.

The Sri lanka Army said they have already informed about the attack on the civilians by the LTTE to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

The Sri Lanka Army sources said closeby army detachments have transported 18 civilians who were injured by the alleged mortar fire by the LTTE.

Among the injured were three little children including an infant of 18 months. All are undergoing treatment at the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.

Earlier the alleged LTTE mortar fire was directed to Padawiya and Ethavetunu Wewa villages.

Powered by Post2Blog Express