Sri Lankan forces have captured the key town and Tamil Tiger bastion of Mallavi in the north of the island following heavy fighting that killed 37 people, the defense ministry said yesterday.
Security forces marched into the town on Monday evening and yesterday morning were “hunting for remaining Tigers,” the ministry said.
“Domination of the well-known Mallavi town ... marked one more decisive and impressive phase of the ‘war for peace,’” the ministry said, referring to its drive to take the Tiger political capital of Kilinochchi, further north.
The fall of Mallavi came as a total of 33 Tamil Tiger rebels and four government soldiers were killed in fighting across the north of the island, the ministry said.
It said 49 guerrillas and 11 soldiers were also wounded in the fighting on Monday.
The capture of Mallavi, where the Tigers had medical facilities, would be a psychological blow to the guerrillas as it is regarded the birth place of Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran’s wife, defense officials said.
The Sri Lanka government pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire with the rebels in January, and have engaged in a massive offensive aimed at dismantling the rebels’ northern mini-state.
The defense ministry said security forces raised the national flag at Mallavi to the “thundering applause” of troops.
The military also released pictures of the Mallavi hospital and other town landmarks now under military control.
There was no immediate word from the Tigers about the military announcement, but the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com Web site said they had offered stiff resistance on another front along the northwestern sea board.
Tamilnet said fighting was reported near Mallavi, but gave no further details.
Sri Lankan authorities said government forces are now just 12km outside of Kilinochchi, the Tamil Tigers’ main administrative base which is situated 330km north of the capital Colombo.
The Tigers have tacitly admitted losing ground — but in the past they have surrendered territory in the past only to strike back in devastating counter-attacks.
The bloodshed came amid weeks of escalating violence in the area, as government troops pushed deep into rebel-held territory, seizing key Tamil Tiger bases and towns that had long been under rebel control.
In the worst of Monday’s fighting, troops captured six bunkers in the Nachchikuda area of Kilinochchi region, killing 26 rebels, the military said.
Air force jets pounded a facility where the rebels stored mortar shells north of Nachchikuda yesterday morning, the military said.
In other battles across the Welioya, Mullaittivu and Vavuniya regions, another 17 rebels and two soldiers were killed, the military reported.
With most communication cut with the northern areas, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.
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