THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE SLAF

HAVING played a decisive and impressive role in decimating the LTTE, the SLAF seems to be searching for clues to its' future role. All indications from Sri Lanka are that the obviously unwise attempts to purchase a fleet of Mig-29s are now permanently put off. If the effeciveness of the F7G's given free of charge by the Chinese eliminated any pretexes to a need to counter the LTTE's airborne threat, the end of combat with the decimation of the terror group has completely ended any speculation in that direction.

As Sri Lanka moves towards reconcilliation and reconstruction, the defence needs will move from a purely operational perspective to strategic. The desperate need we had to acquire easy to maintain work horses such as the Mig27s no longer exist, while with time Sri Lanka will become more self sufficient in their ability to deal with ground threats purely with ground forces backed by armor. In the worst case scenario the support of air mobile units supported by helicopted gun ships could easily become an adequate security arrangement.

Of greater interest will be the need to establish a maritime border patrol such as the proposed coast guard with ample fire power. Quite obviously the govt will have to look to the SLN to develop such a force using its impressively combat proven resources. The changes to the SLN's heirarchy at the very top may lead to a re-vamping of an ambitious fleet air arm, which may be limited to helicopter and UAV operations from the larger bodied off shore patrol craft.

How these short and long term future needs will be interpreted by the defence establishment in the post-war scenario will remain to be seen. But for now, Sri Lanka will not see any Mig29s in its air force.

EXODUS| LARGEST EVER HUMAN SHIELD RESCUED

Sri Lankan Defence Forces faught their way into the enclave within which the LTTE leaders had a large number of tamil civillians closely in a human shield booby trapped with a large quantity of explosives including phosporous incendiaries.

Thousands of civillians set free by the SL Forces are seen moving towards government controlled areas and away from the combat zone still littered with a large number of dead bodies and possibly unexploded ordnance. Some of the top LTTE leaders' families have surrendered to the SLDF as well.

Though not yet officially confirmed, reliable sources report the SLDF capturing dead bodies of the LTTE leadership which are difficult to be identified. A formal announcement is awaited when Sri Lankan parliament meets on Tuesday.

OPERATIONS TO RID SL OF TERRORISM AMIDST INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

THE pressure on Sri Lanka to let the tamil tigers off the hook is so great it could give some one a serious headache. But not the present government, whose tenacity is in itself a requisite lesson in dealing with not only modern day terrorism, but also its attendent support structure.

Though nations such as Britain pay lip service to anti-terrorism rhetoric, and occasionally its over zealous anti-terror police force shoot the wrong suspect repeatedly in the head, there has hardly been any discernible action when acts of terror have been committed by pro-LTTE elements against Sri Lanka and its citizens from British soil. In the meanwhile the British are busy making blatantly unrealistic demands from the soveriegn state of Sri Lanka to commit to a cease-fire which will only benefit the tamil terrorists who continue to hold thousands of tamil civillians hostage.

In the meanwhile Sri Lankan Defence Forces have concluded all mass scale combat operations and have decided to limit the use of heavy weaponry to avoid causing civillian casualties. This is now necessitated by the fact that LTTE thugs are hiding among tamil civillians and are difficult to identify. Nevertheless the SLAF is still involved in providing close air support for operations conducted in other areas of LTTE acitivity and logistical needs of special operations groups in the territory still under tamil tiger control. The SLAF also is available for the taking out of any clearly identified terrorist target within the hostage zone, should the need arise.

CLOSE AIR SUPPORT DEVASTATED LTTE POSITIONS

The SLAF also had a part to play in breaking the back of the LTTE last week end.

Initial indications of a massive LTTE presence in the area adjacent to the civillian zone along with a high concentration of heavy weapons came from a UAV sent over the terrain early last weekend.

Following ground force movements and induction of additional reinforcements, close air support elements of the air force were called in. Reports so far indicate the SLAF action devastated LTTE forces and also helped pin point their locations for the attacking ground units. At the same time, the close quarters fighting caused some friendly fire casualties to the SLA. Numbers killed are said to be minimal while a higher number has been injured.

In the meanwhile, the LTTE dead count has gone over 525, while informed sorces overseas state the correct number of tigers killed to be anywhere between 1,000 to 1,200. However, these numbers cannot be verified.

SLAF DESTROYS LTTE HEAVY WEAPON

Yesterday a roving UAV of the SLAF spotted a group of tamil tigers busily towing a big 130mm cannon on a lonely road, and called in a couple of Kfir jet fighters.





Update..
The remains of the gun targetted by the SLAF was later recovered by troops.


[Pic:yahoo]

THE WAR IN THE AIR IS ALMOST OVER

WITH the SL Defence Forces cornering the tamil tiger hyenas to a mere one kilometer plus the skirt width of the women and children they currently hold hostage in a massive human shield, the combat tasks of the SLAF have almost ground to a halt.

Currently the SLAF engages in med-evac and logistics operations conducted using helicopters and the heavy lifters only. Except for an unsuccessful incident involving a couple of shoulder launched missiles fired by the LTTE targetting two medevac choppers from among the civillians in the safe zone, the SLAF is in for a boring rest of the war it seems.

The missile firing came as a rude awakening for the SLAF, though without any losses. The LTTE goons are known to have acquired 10 shoulder launched missiles recently, but the ones that were fired on the SLAF choppers were easily deflected by the magnesium flares carried on board.

The LTTE were unable to acquire sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry during the time of the Bush administration, but the playing field has since then appears to be changing gradually. How the LTTE managed to acquire these weapons would be interesting to know for the world's military intelligence, for it quite clearly shows a dangerous turn of events.

GIVE YOUR MANDATE TO THE SLG TO ERADICATE TERROR

DEMOCRACY is a meaningless term when the voice of the voter is not heard in government decisions. When citizens of a nation fail to impose their will upon the government by failing to adequately instruct the elected officials what their exact expectations are, such nations suffer from a lack of direction and become the victim of much social malaise. We have seen plenty of that in the past half century of democracy.

As Sri Lankans, we are not only guilty of failing to hold government officials accountable for their misdeeds, we have also for decades been silent spectators to the unending death and destruction in our country caused by the LTTE, conveniently blaming the outcome on politicians, our own karma and everyone else but our selves.

If as Sri Lankans, you are ready to do something about it, please visit the following link and sign the petition which directs the Sri Lankan government to continue with all necessary means to eradicate terrorism from our motherland, irrespective of anyone else' views.

http://www.lankapetitions.com/form.php