Chapter 3 The Final Battle Two
Sri Lankan anti-government armed forces, the Tamil Tigers, launched two aerial attacks on February 28th late at night, targeting a government military base in the north and the capital Colombo.
Among them, the air raid on the capital even forced Colombo to plunge into darkness for more than an hour, and local military and civilians were also terrified.
However, according to Sri Lankan intelligence sources, the Tigers' aircraft were merely old crop dusters assembled from smuggled parts.
A plane so outdated that it has caused such a commotion in the capital, leaving the people of Sri Lanka crying with laughter.
According to reports, on the night of 28th local time, a Tiger organization warplane dropped three bombs on a government military base in Mannar town in the north.
Military spokesman Udyanaya Nanayakkara confirmed that the air raid injured at least one soldier and caused minor damage to the base.
About an hour later, the Tiger aircraft dropped a bomb on the Kelanitissa power station in Colombo's northern suburb at around 11:30 pm local time on the 28th, causing a fire at the power plant.
Sri Lankan government forces launched a fierce counterattack after the Tiger aircraft dropped bombs, with cannon fire piercing the dark sky and searchlights desperately seeking out the enemy planes.
An anonymous Sri Lankan military official revealed that before the power station was bombed, government radar detected a suspicious aircraft flying towards the capital and immediately activated air defense mechanisms and cut off city-wide electricity to prevent lights from helping LTTE planes spot targets.
The fire caused by the explosion was brought under control at around 1 am on the 29th.
Military spokesman Nana Yaa Karbo confirmed that no one was killed or injured in the attack on the power station.
Nanayakkara said he was not clear whether the Tigers' aircraft had been hit and whether the two air raids were carried out by one aircraft, and could not confirm whether the city-wide power outage was due to a military warning or the air raid.
Tiger Forces launched an airstrike on February 28, the first airstrike by the group in about a month and its first airstrike against the capital region in over a year.
The LTTE carried out air raids on Vavuniya in April last year and Colombo's eastern and northern suburbs in September.
Operation Eagle was first launched in March last year, targeting an air force base near Colombo.
According to Sri Lankan intelligence, the anti-government forces acquired five Czech-made Zlin-143 trainer aircraft through smuggling in parts and reassembling them.
Reconnaissance photos show that there is more than one simple runway in the area controlled by the Tigers.
From "Ji Shi Bao" war correspondent Li Ying's report.
Sri Lankan Air Force Commander Gunatilleke announced that the newly inducted F-10 fighter jets of Sri Lankan Air Force had carried out their first ever air strike earlier that morning, shooting down a Zlin Z 143 light aircraft of the LTTE.
The F-10 fighter can not only successfully intercept, but also effectively attack the ground, in the final stage of the war, the F-10 fighter is more with A-10 attack aircraft to attack high-value ground targets.
It is said that the F-10 fighter intercepted and drove away a foreign plane in the last moments of the war, which was believed to be trying to pick up the leader of the Tiger Organization.
The performance of the aircraft of the Federal Republic of Nanhua in Sri Lanka can be evaluated as excellent, including F-10 fighter jets, A-10 attack aircraft, AH-10 attack helicopters and CH-10 multi-purpose helicopters.
They all accomplished the mission entrusted to them by their clients, more importantly, the aircraft of the Republic of South Africa and the after-sales service of South African Airways have been with Sri Lanka from start to finish, which is reassuring for all customers.
The battlefield is undoubtedly the best stage, and we have performed exceptionally well.
In early June 1963, the Government of Ceylon held a Victory Day parade in Colombo to celebrate the military victory of government forces over the Tamil Tigers last month.
At this military parade, three types of aircraft from the Southern Army flew in formation to accept the review. They were F-10 fighter jets, A-10 attack planes and CH-10 helicopters.
This is the best compliment for our aircraft as they helped Sri Lankan government forces win a war comprehensively.
Excerpt from "Southern China Airlines" 1963 No. 10
Sri Lankan military said on May 1 that the Sri Lankan Navy clashed with anti-government armed group Tamil Tigers in northern waters early that morning, killing 14 members of the Tigers and wounding 16 others. Five Sri Lankan naval personnel were also injured.
The Sri Lankan Navy detected LTTE boats off the coast of Nagarkovil in Jaffna Peninsula early morning and a fierce battle ensued, with 4 LTTE boats being destroyed.
The existence of its Sea Tigers has prevented the Sri Lankan government forces from cutting off their sea escape routes and supply lines for many years, which is an important reason why the organization can survive and grow.
From "Ji Shi Bao" war correspondent Wang Fangfang's report.
The Sri Lankan government's military has a total strength of around 170,000 personnel.
Of which 135,000 were in the army.
The navy has 20,000 people.
Air Force 15,000 people.
In addition, there are about 80,000 police officers, national auxiliary police and home guards.
There is a small unit in Sri Lanka's Defence Force whose members look no different from other soldiers at first glance.
However, upon closer inspection, the difference can be seen from the silver wing-shaped badge under the emblem on their left chest pocket and the fact that they usually hold assault rifles made by the Huaxia Federation rather than Russian-made series rifles.
They are Sri Lanka's Special Forces - Reconnaissance and Strike Team - SRST.
Counter-terrorism operations are one of SRST's peacetime tasks, but not the only task.
Simply put, SRST mainly performs tasks that are secret missions that enemies will only discover on the second morning.
Since the founding of Sri Lanka, until the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, every time a commander of the Sri Lankan Army put an X on the map in areas where guerrillas were active, it meant that SRST had completed another secret mission, and most of these missions were top state secrets.
To accomplish these covert missions, long-range raids and clandestine marches become essential skills for SRST team members.
New recruits start with a 5-kilometer march, increasing exponentially like a spring, until the end of special forces training. By then, each member is capable of sprinting to a target location 120 kilometers away from base in one breath, completing their mission and returning to base.
In this regard, it is already beyond many other countries' special forces. And every time during training and combat, the officers most often say - follow me, this style of leading by example has inspired the spirit of all team members, making today's SRST enjoy the honor of being the "army within the army" in Sri Lanka.
Since its inception in 1960, SRST has achieved numerous victories and thus gained the favor of the Sri Lankan government and national leaders.
In May 1963, the Sri Lankan government forces launched an operation code-named "Victory to Dawn" against the guerrilla stronghold of Jaffna.
The closer the Sri Lankan army got to Jaffna, the stronger the resistance became. Once they were thrown into street fighting in Jaffna, things became even more complicated.
Thousands of guerrilla fighters who were willing to live and die with the city, relying on well-built fortifications, stubbornly resisted in every rooftop, where machine gun nests and rocket launching sites were installed.
At the most critical moment of the battle, SRST members entered the battlefield and, with the assistance of armored vehicles and armed helicopters, almost every floor was contested in a fierce fight.
Several days later, the battle ended with SRST killing 1410 guerrilla fighters, but SRST also suffered heavy casualties, with 3 officers and 31 soldiers killed. Despite this, if another unit had been sent to fight in the alleys, the casualty numbers would have been far higher.
From "Ji Shi Bao" chief war correspondent Li Qiang's report.
Jaffna Peninsula is a peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Palk Strait and connected to the rest of Sri Lanka via Elephant Pass.
It is 88 km long and approximately 24 km wide, with a total area of about 1,000 square kilometers. It belongs to the Jaffna District of Sri Lanka.
The Jaffna Peninsula is densely populated with Tamils as the majority and was the main stronghold of the Tamil Tigers, also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The largest city on the peninsula is Jaffna with a population of around 130,000 people.
The Government of Sri Lanka plans to invite the South African Federation Republic to set up an international standard airport in Pul-e-Alam, Tamil region in northern Sri Lanka.
Reports say that SLMC MP Rishad Bathiudeen revealed that Colombo has already acquired large tracts of land in the area for this purpose, and the Southern Provincial Council has submitted a model of the airport for approval.
Punele is a controlled area of Vanni in Jaffna Peninsula, located between Palk Strait and Jaffna Lagoon.
The region is also closer to Rameswaram and Dondra in the coast of Tamil Nadu, India.
Not long ago, Sri Lankan military officials were boasting about their diplomatic relations with the Republic of South Sudan in Jaffna.
The military said it would allow the Republic of South Sudan to establish a port in the Kankesanthurai area, while also allowing the government and military of the Republic of South Sudan to jointly develop and use the remaining areas with private companies in northern Jaffna coast and Sri Lanka.
The Daily News, controlled by the Government of Sri Lanka, carried an article in July 1963 quoting Colonel Rajanayake, Military Commander for the Polonnaruwa District as saying "As history has recorded, all past invaders of Sri Lanka had been defeated at Polonnaruwa."
A Daily News feature article also mentioned that Sri Lanka plans to build a second international airport in the Kilinochchi district.
Jaffna political observers say that the resolution's chosen area, the South Indian Federal Republic has shown some interest in it and is beginning to consider implementing the plan to help Sri Lanka guard against external invasions from Tamil Nadu.
Ponneri in the local language means City of Flowers, the suffix of this word is a variation of the word for pearl in ancient Tamil and there is also an area with a similar name on the opposite coast in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, sources from Jaffna said that the Delft Island located in the Palk Bay, far away from Jaffna and adjacent to Rameswaram is also being readied for construction of tourist facilities.
