December 30,2008:
The navy blockade continues unbroken, despite desperate LTTE attempts to
ship weapons and munitions in. There are only a few bits of coastline where the
LTTE can land stuff, so it's easier for
the navy to catch the smuggling attempts.
The fighting around the LTTE capital of Kilinochchi is apparently attracting the best fighters the LTTE has left. That's because some army units have been hit with well prepared and led
counterattacks. These were attempts to
push the army back, but these offensive operations failed. Sometimes there were heavy army casualties, but the
soldiers stood their ground and stopped the LTTE attackers. That didn't happen
5-10 years ago, and is one reason why
the LTTE are on their last legs. The rebels no longer have a qualitative
edge on the battlefield.
Advancing
troops have captured an LTTE airstrip,
hidden under nets and foliage. The army is advancing up the east
coast, past the town of Mullaitivu, and down the east coast
along the Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE defenses consist of recently recruited fighters holding out in recently built bunkers. The morale of the LTTE
fighters is rapidly declining, as is their battlefield effectiveness.
The
government is also getting more information on the day-to-day whereabouts of LTTE
leader Velupillai Prabakaran. The air force is bombing these locations, hoping
to kill or wound Prabakaran (whose death would be a major blow
to the LTTE). In any event, the army
believes they will have Prabakaran, dead or alive, with six weeks. While
there's always a chance that Prabakaran will flee the island and attempt to keep up a terror
campaign from exile, that is considered
unlikely. Sri Lankan diplomatic efforts have gotten the LTTE declared an international terrorist organization, and it's unlikely
any nation would allow Prabakaran to operate within their
borders.
December 28,
2008: Outside the capital, an LTTE suicide bomber attack left eight dead and several dozen wounded. More such attacks have been expected, but have not materialized
so far.