19.7.2008

Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said that the Security Forces had been able to destroy two thirds of the LTTE's military capability in the two years of operations since the liberation of Mavil Aru.

He expressed confidence that the troops were at the beginning of the end in their war against the LTTE. The Army Commander said that he expected to bring the war to a turning point in August at the rate the Security Forces were advancing into Tiger territory.

In an interview with a local newspaper, the Army Commander said that the Security Forces had already advanced 40 km into LTTE-controlled territory in the North in this latest military offensive that began in 2006.

Commenting on the cadre strength of the LTTE, the Army Commander said that the LTTE had forcibly recruited 3,000 individuals in the past two years.

"They have deployed their political cadres now. Police officers have also been sent to the battlefront after being given weapons training. It is therefore possible that they still have a strength of some 5,000 cadres," he added.

The Army Commander also said that, of this number, there are 1,500 cadres in Muhamalai. The balance is deployed in the Wanni. Not all of them are on the battlefront. It includes the administrative cadres and personal security for Prabhakaran.