Sri Lanka's government troops have gained a major territorial victory in its current military thrust against the Tamil Tiger rebels in the north, defense officials said Thursday.
The ground troops have captured Paranthan, a rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) garrison, which is strategically located in the district of Kilinochchi along the A-9 highway linking the south and the north of the island.
Officials said Paranthan has thus fallen into military control for the first time in a decade. The fall of Paranthan would also open a gateway to the LTTE's remaining defenses further north on the A-35 road.
The troops, according to military analysts, are now well on the way to capturing Kilinochchi which had served as the LTTE's administration headquarters since the late 1990s.
Since mid 2006 the LTTE have lost large areas of geographical control to the advancing government troops. The government has now set up civil administration in the former LTTE held areas in the eastern province with successive elections.
LTTE, which had fought over three decades separatist war to setup a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east, have faced major battle field reversals giving military the upper hand in the conflict.
More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict since the mid1980s.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article