Sri Lankan government on Thursday hailed the capture of Thoppigala, the last LTTE stronghold in the thick jungles of the Eastern Batticaloa district as a “historical achievement”, as the Tamil Tigers claimed that they would adopt “guerilla tactics” in the East region hereafter.
“The capture of Thoppigala, which marked the complete liberation of the Eastern province is a historical achievement,” Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told reporters in Colombo.
“Nobody should belittle this great victory achieved by the forces under the correct leadership from the Commander-in Chief, President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” Minister Yapa said, adding that the troops were now engaged in the process of clearing area.
“We have liberated the East so that the people could be free from the clutches of the LTTE. We will now concentrate on developing the east and holding elections so that the eastern people also could elect their representatives for democratic institutions freely,” he said.
Tigers roar
Conceding for the first time that the military has gained control of vast territory of their former strongholds in the Eastern province, the Tamil Tiger rebels have said that they would now adopt the unconventional “guerilla tactics” in the East region.
Rebels’ military spokesman, Irasaiya Ilanthiraiyan in an interview with the BBC, has said that they have already switched to guerilla tactics few week ago in these areas”.
“They (government) are mentioning this as an end of the war in East. But that is not true. We have 24 years experience in guerilla war. In fact we have already changed our approach to guerilla tactics some week ago in these areas,” the LTTE spokesman said.