Thousands of civilians who had been forcibly held by the LTTE terrorists in the government declared No Fire Zone (NFZ) were rescued early hours this morning, 20 April, as the troops engaged in a massive scale rescue mission, were able to open a safe passage for the civilians breaking another LTTE earth bunt in general area Pudumathalan.
The troops of 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (11 SLLI), 9 Gemunu Watch (9 GW), 8 Gajaba Regiment (8 GR), Special Force (SF) and Army Commandos (CR) serving under 58 Division commanded by Brigadier Shavindra Silva, captured 2 1/2 Km stretch of LTTE built earth bund in general areas Puthumathalan and Ampalawanpokkani by early hours this morning, latest military sources said.
Intense fighting commenced between troops and LTTE terrorists from mid-night as terrorists made desperate attempts to hold the earth bund built by the terrorists to resist the security forces advances.
Additional troops were also deployed in the area to address the welfare issues of the Tamil civilians rescued, military sources added.
Ministry of Defence
This indeed is the breakthrough the Sri Lankan government, the entire country & the peaceloving people the world over were looking forward to. With this victory the floodgates would be thrown open and Pirapaharan or even our (dollar) friend, the so called “doctor” Wickramabahu Karunaratne will not be able to stop the exodus of the innocent Tamils. What inevitably would follow will be the end of Pirapaharan and his cohorts in the North as well as in the south.