The Sri Lankan armed forces fought their way and managed to capture Kilinochchi, the LTTE’s de facto “capital” on January 2. Significantly, it was the same day last year that the government of Sri Lanka decided to pull out of the ceasefire agreement (CFA) that was preventing them from declaring an all-out war against the LTTE. Since then, the advance of the Sri Lankan army has been good despite fierce resistance from the Tigers. How significant is the fall of Kilinochchi? Is this the beginning of the end of the LTTE? What is the way ahead?

The fall of Kilinochchi, situated on the strategic A-9 road, is significant for the Sri Lankan government and in turn a blow to the LTTE. Wresting Kilinochchi after a decade of its loss to the Tigers is a dream come true for the Sri Lankan forces. It is indeed a big morale boosting victory for the forces, especially after suffering huge casualties in the process. Credit for the capture partly goes to the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) and the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) that ably supported the army in the advancement. Unrelenting air strikes were being used to support the ground troops as well as to destroy the LTTE defences and installations. The navy was used to mainly cut the LTTE’s supply lines, and at the same time to weaken the “Sea Tigers” as much as possible to trim down their capability to launch amphibious operations.

On the other hand, the loss of Kilinochchi is considered a huge blow to the LTTE. Militarily, the LTTE may opt out of conventional fighting after its withdrawal from Kilinochchi. Given the numerical superiority of the government forces and the nature of the terrain of the remaining Mullaitivu, guerrilla tactics would be found a better means of resistance. Politically, it was in Kilinochchi that the Tigers had been building their future state structures like “courts” and “ministries”. Kilinochchi is also centrally located to serve as the administrative capital, with Jaffna to act as the symbolic political capital for a future Eelam.

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