June 2003, the Sri Lankan Army lodged a complaint with the SLMM accusing the Tigers of setting up a new camp at Manirasakulam on the south western side of the Bay. The SLMM inquiry ruled that the camp was within 600 meters ofgovernment-controlled areas and should be dismantled. The LTTE ignored the ruling.
Further, the Sri Lankan government, on August 9, 2004, officially complained to the SLMM that 13 camps of the LTTE, located along the southern mouth of the harbour, had been newly set up, violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement.
Over time, Sampur had even acquired the position of a key LTTE base, operating as the Eastern Province headquarters. All institutions such as their administrative offices, courts, Eastern Province police headquarters were located there. The emergence of Sampur as a key LTTE stronghold created a threat to the security of the Trincomalee Naval base and the adjacent Air Force base that provides critical support to the military operations in the Northern theatre. A report compiled by the US Pacific Command on the vulnerabilities of the Trincomalee Naval base clearly points out that the presence of LTTE long range weapons at Sampur was a definite threat to the safety and security of the military installations at Trincomalee.
The Trincomalee Harbour is also of critical importance to the national economy. Forty percent of the oil filling stations in Sri Lanka are operated by the Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) and the fuel supplies of the LIOC are stored at the Oil Tank Farm at China Bay near the Trincomalee Harbour.
Further, Sri Lanka’s total wheat flour requirements are supplied by the Prima Flour Milling factory in Trincomalee. The silos and buildings of the Prima factory on the bay of the Trincomalee harbour are viable targets for LTTE long-range weaponry. International shipping lines transporting wheat flour have, in the past, voiced reservations due to the threat on Trincomalee Harbour. In addition, the Harbour also has several other industrial facilities such as the cement processing plant of the Tokyo Cement Company.
Regaining Sampur was, consequently, a rising imperative as hostilities recommenced, and the battle to regain the strategic town was launched by the military on August 28, with ground troops painstakingly de-mining the region, under Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) air cover. By September 3, troops had managed to regain some parts of Sampur region, even as, by then, the LTTE had reportedly removed its artillery from Sampur to safer places in the Vaharai-Verugal area of Batticaloa district. Thereafter, on September 4, LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Ilantheriyan announced that their troops were "tactically withdrawing" from the Sampur town.
F
or the military, one of the crucial elements in the success stories of the battles has been the effective operational use of SLAF fighter aircrafts. According to security analysts, the SLAF was, in the past, not a willing player in the conflict, primarily due to losses suffered under LTTE missile fire. On April 28, 1995, the LTTE had used a missile to bring down an Avro at the Palaly Airbase in Jaffna, killing 50 officers and men during Eelam War III. In August the same year, an AN-32 transport aircraft was shot down, again by a missile.
The LTTE, over the years, has been constantly upgrading its weaponry with a focused approach to thwart any future SLAF involvement. Part of the plan was the reported development of an airstrip at Iranamadu and attempts to assemble twin engine propeller driven aircraft. The LTTE is also in possession of SA7 surface-to-air missiles, which were used to down the SLAF transport planes earlier. However, the SA7 missiles are considered to have a shorter shelf life and limited speed, range and altitude, rendering them ineffective against fast moving fighter aircraft. The result was the enormously effective use of fighter jets by Colombo, as a few examples demonstrate:
July 27: SLAF fighter craft struck selected LTTE targets in the east of Mullaittivu District, where the LTTE was reportedly constructing an illegal airstrip, killing six cadres and injuring five civilians.
July 29: Eight LTTE cadres were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in an air strike by the SLAF at the outfit’s Thenaham Conference Centre in the Karadiyanaru area of Batticaloa District.
July 31: SLAF jets destroy a Sea-Tiger base in the Vakarai area of Batticaloa district, killing at least 30 LTTE cadres.
August 1: In SLAF air strikes at the Mavilaru, Verugalaru and Kathirveli, thegovernment claimed to have killed 50 LTTE cadres.
An LTTE attempt at acquiring a better version of the SA7 missiles was thwarted on August 19, 2006, when thirteen suspects with close links to the rebels were arrested in Long Island, New York, after three of them traveled from Canada to New York in an attempt to finalize a $900,000 deal to buy SA18 surface-to-air missiles, missile launchers, AK-47s and training services from what turned out to be an undercover police official. Reports indicate that the undercover agent allegedly discussed selling weapons with one of the suspects to shoot down the Kfir Israeli-made jets used by the SLAF.
Although, the military celebrates the capture of Sampur, this is far from the end of the present round of conflict. Following the Sampur loss, LTTE political head, S.P. Tamilselvan stated, "One of the basic requirements of the CFA is to respect the existing borders of control. The Sampur occupation clearly violates this and therefore by this occupation GoSL has brought an end to the CFA. This is how LTTE views the occupation." Further, he warned that the Sinhala population will soon have to face the "consequences" of the ongoing clashes: "the international community should not behave any differently when, as a consequence ofgovernment action on Tamil people, Sinhala people face the same fate in the future."
The LTTE might have suffered a setback or, in its own language, have ‘tactically withdrawn’ from some areas, but its lethality cannot be ignored as history has proven time and again. The outfit continues to have the wherewithal to hit back strongly, as clearly witnessed in the September 10 attack by LTTE cadres on SF positions in the Muhamalai area of the Jaffna peninsula, leaving 28 soldiers dead. More crucially, the Tigers have the capacity to carry out operations even at the country’s heart, Colombo.