 COLOMBO - Sri Lankaâs outgoing army chief on Monday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of trying to provoke the military with a series of truce-breaking attacks that killed 12 people over the weekend. Lieutenant General Shantha Kottegoda warned the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that the army could now defeat them, despite repeated failures in the past. He said the LTTE had stepped up organised attacks against government forces in the former rebel stronghold of Jaffna in a bid to draw fire from the military. âI am very confident that with the training we have done in the past three years we are better prepared today than we were before the ceasefire,â the general said, referring to the February 2002 truce with the rebels. âOur troops will be able to fight and defeat them.â
Kottegoda, who retires as army chief on Monday, said the Tigers may resort to more hit-and-run style attacks in order to minimise losses to their own cadres following a split in the rebel outfit in March last year. âThey could resort to more guerrilla tactics because they may want to retain their cadres,â he said.
Kottegoda, who had earlier been an advisor to Sri Lankaâs peace negotiators, said the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who was elected last month, must also push ahead with moves to try to revive direct talks with the Tigers. âWe have to make a move. We need to take some steps with regard to the peace process,â he said, adding the two sides should be able to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire.
Rajapakseâs government has said he wants a new peace process and to âreviseâ the truce, but the guerrillas have maintained that any unilateral action on the process is unacceptable. Despite the truce, a total of 12 people were killed in Sri Lankaâs embattled northern and eastern regions over the weekend, a military official said. He said troops in those regions as well as other parts of the island were asked to remain on high alert. âIt is obvious that through these violent acts, the LTTE is trying all possible means to provoke troops and create a volatile situation in Jaffna,â military spokesman Nalin Witharanage said in a statement. âIn the wake of these incidents, the security forces and the police will now intensify security duties to ensure law and order prevailed.â
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Hours after the blast, another soldier was shot dead by suspected Tiger gunmen in the same area, officials said, adding that another trooper had also been gunned down the previous day. The government in a statement said the explosion in Jaffna, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Colombo, was a âpre-planned terrorist attack on army personnel engaged in non-offensive routine activities.â
âThe troops were transporting lunch for their colleagues when they were caught up in the explosion,â a military official in the area said. âWe believe it is the work of the Tigers.â
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