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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001207 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS 
MCC FOR D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT OFFENSIVE IN SOUTHERN MANNAR 
DISPLACES THOUSANDS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Robert O Blake, for reasons 1.4(b,d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) began a military 
offensive on August 27 to clear Silavaturai and neighboring 
villages in southwestern Mannar district of Liberation Tigers 
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres.  About four thousand civilians 
are reportedly displaced by the fighting.  UN interlocutors 
report that the ICRC and other humanitarian agencies have 
ample capacity in the area to handle the situation.  On 
Monday, September 3, the ICRC turned over to the SLA 12 
bodies of civilians, including six women and three children, 
killed in a claymore mine explosion inside Tiger-controlled 
territory.  Both sides allege that the other is responsible 
for the attack.  Some media outlets are laying the blame on 
the military, which allegedly attacked a van because it did 
not have a license plate.  On September 3, the ICRC announced 
that it will close the Uylankulam checkpoint, one of two 
official points-of-entry into the Tiger-controlled Vanni, 
because it is no longer able to guarantee the safety of its 
employees working there.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CUTTING OFF THE SUPPLY LINES 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C)  The Sri Lanka Army is continuing an offensive it 
began on August 27 to take control of portions of the western 
coast just south of the Mannar peninsula.  Although the area 
south of the Mannar-Vavuniya road is considered SLA 
territory, pockets of LTTE cadres have long held portions of 
the area.  Embassy interlocutors speculate that the LTTE uses 
sea bases, including the base at Silavaturai captured on 
September 2, to smuggle supplies and weapons into the Vanni 
from southern India.  The military reported that it captured 
three boats at the Silavaturai base.  Operations in the area 
are continuing, with the SLA and LTTE trading mortar fire. 
The number of casualties on both sides is not known. The ICRC 
delivered the body of at least one slain SLA soldier to the 
military on September 1. 
 
THOUSAND OF IDPs FLEE FIGHTING 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (C)  The Daily Mirror reported that more than 4,000 
people were displaced from Musoli, Arippu, Silavaturai, 
Saveriapuram and Kokkupadayan "as a result of the latest 
military advance in the North," with IDPs fleeing to 
SLA-controlled villages in Mannar such as Nanattan and 
Vankalai.  Tamil newspaper Virakesari and the Consortium of 
Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) estimate that approximately 6,500 
IDPs have been displaced as a result of the fighting. 
Embassy interlocutors in the area believe that the lower 
estimate is more accurate.  The discrepancy may lie in 
different methods of counting IDPs, however.  Some media 
sources appear to count only those relying on assistance from 
external sources like the ICRC, while CHA and Virakesari 
apparently also count those displaced but staying with 
relatives.  According to Office of Foreign Disaster 
Assistance (OFDA) Sri Lanka representative Doug Mercado, the 
ICRC is managing the situation well, and has more than 
adequate resources.  Mercado reported that some of the 
displaced are already starting to return home.  The remaining 
IDPs are being housed in schools. 
 
TWELVE CIVILIANS KILLED IN CLAYMORE EXPLOSION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On September 2, a claymore mine hit a van traveling 
from Silavaturai to Arippu carrying 12 civilians, including 
six women and three children, killing all twelve.  Both the 
SLA and the Tigers denied responsibility and accused the 
other of the attack.  Some media outlets and the Citizens' 
 
COLOMBO 00001207  002 OF 002 
 
 
Committee of Mannar alleged that SLA Deep Penetration Units 
targeted the van when they saw that it did not have a license 
plate.    The bodies of the 12 victims were delivered by the 
ICRC to the Army on September 3. 
 
ICRC CLOSES UYLANKULAM CHECKPOINT 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  On September 4 the ICRC announced that it is closing 
the Uylankulam checkpoint (near Mannar), one of two official 
passage points into the LTTE-controlled Vanni.  Fighting in 
the area has been intense.  Embassy interlocutors told us 
that the ICRC decided to close the checkpoint when their 
employees came under fire.  Publicly, ICRC spokesman Davide 
Vignati cited generic concerns for employees' safety, 
stating:  "We can't provide security for our staff as the 
fighting is escalating."  Closure of the Uylankulam 
checkpoint leaves the Omanthai checkpoint as the only 
crossing point to and from the Vanni. 
 
¶6.  (C)  COMMENT:  The SLA offensive in Silavaturai is taking 
place in what was nominally a government-controlled area, 
well south of the Vavuniya-Mannar highway.  It does not 
appear to be part of the larger military offensive to capture 
the Vanni that Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa 
threatened, but rather an effort to shut down LTTE supply 
lines.  The military action is having a significant impact on 
civilian life in the area, but the affected population 
appears to be relatively small.  While our current assessment 
is that the ICRC is handling the situation capably, continued 
escalation of hostilities could affect the ICRC's ability to 
respond to the IDPs' needs.  Embassy will monitor the 
situation and report on any significant increase in military 
activity or the numbers displaced. 
BLAKE