US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1800

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001800 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2005 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PTER, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: AMBUSH ON LTTE LEADERS IN EASTERN SRI LANKA 
 
 
Classified By: Charg d'Affaires James F. Entwistle.  Reason: 
1.4(B,D) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  In Batticaloa district, in eastern Sri 
Lanka, on October 10, suspected Karuna faction gunmen, 
ambushed a convoy carrying the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) district military head and intelligence head. 
The attack reportedly left four dead and seven wounded.  At 
the request of the LTTE Peace Secretariat, the government 
evacuated a seriously wounded LTTE fighter to Colombo.  The 
attack is a reminder that, despite the Cease Fire Agreement 
(CFA), a shadow war continues in the east that has the 
potential to flare into a wider conflict, especially in the 
run-up to the November 17 presidential election.  End Summary. 
 
Bushwhacked 
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2.  (SBU) On the night of October 10, a four vehicle convoy, 
stopped at an LTTE checkpoint in Vavunathivu, was attacked by 
suspected members of the breakaway LTTE Karuna faction.  The 
resulting firefight lasted almost an hour according to some 
press reports. LTTE district military head Bhanu and district 
intelligence chief Keerthi were thought to be the targets of 
the attack.  Local press reported four dead and seven 
injured, while the LTTE claimed only three wounded.  The Sri 
Lankan Army (SLA) told the DAO that Keerthi may be among the 
dead or wounded although the Norwegians have told us that 
reports of Bhanu's death are erroneous.  The attack took 
place in LTTE controlled territory but only 750 meters from 
an SLA checkpoint. 
 
3.  (C) Bhanu is a northern Tamil, and close confidant of 
LTTE leader Prabhakaran, selected by Prabhakaran to take over 
the eastern front after Karuna broke away in March 2004. 
Keerthi is from Batticaloa and is believed to be responsible 
for orchestrating the LTTE campaign against SLA intelligence 
operatives in the district. 
 
Medevac 
------- 
 
4.  (U) At the request of the LTTE Peace Secretariat, the GSL 
arranged a helicopter to medevac an LTTE cadre  seriously 
wounded in the firefight to Colombo for medical treatment. 
In 2005 there have been nine requests for medevac assistance, 
which are made via the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) 
to the GSL Peace Secretariat and then acted upon by the SLA 
or private services. 
 
Comment 
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5.  (C) Details remain murky although it is logical to assume 
that the breakaway Karuna faction is behind the incident (and 
they claimed credit late on October 12).  Bhanu and Keerthi 
are both close to Prabhakaran  and it is thus unlikely that 
this attack will not elicit some sort of response from LTTE 
headquarters - an unwelcome prospect in the always volatile 
East in the run-up to the November 17 Presidential election. 
ENTWISTLE