Sri Lanka: Woe Is Us

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May 6,2008: Things keep getting worse for the LTTE. Overseas money collections are down, as countries hosting Tamil refugees crack down on LTTE run scams. In Sri Lanka, the air force keeps getting better information out of LTTE held territory about where key LTTE targets are located. The air force then bombs and destroys scarce supplies or key personnel, using either jets or helicopter gunships.

May 1, 2008: So far this year, about 3,200 LTTE fighters have been killed, along with about 240 soldiers. The lopsided casualties are largely due to the army having much more air and artillery support, a lot more ammo, better training and more troops. The LTTE has fanaticism, reinforced by a fanatical, charismatic (among Tamils) core leadership. Recently, this leadership sent out letters to overseas supporters asking for an immediate infusion of $20 million in cash. Canadian police captured a copy of the letter sent to the Canadian LTTE supporters, calling for them to send about 15 percent of that money. Foreign governments are more alert to these illegal fund raising schemes, and have been stopping a lot of this cash from reaching the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

April 27, 2008: Two of the LTTE single engine commercial aircraft attacked army units in the north, dropping three bombs and wounding a soldier. No meaningful damage was done, but the new anti-aircraft systems did not catch these aircraft. That's likely because these attacks were close to the LTTE airfields in the north. The new anti-aircraft measures (mainly a new radar system) were primarily for defending the capital and military targets in the southern part of the island.

April 25, 2008: In the capital, a bomb went off on a bus, killing 24 and wounding nearly fifty. Four days later, a similar bomb was found in another bus and defused before it could explode.

 

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