How the Sea Tiger camp was drowned with gunfire by Ranee Mohamed

The Sri Lanka army was being daring again. The men were making thier way to overrun a camp belonging to the sea tigers. This was was for real and they expected to die - but before that they had another great expectation - they surely expected to win.

The sea tiger camp of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam spread menacingly, swallowing a greater portion of the jungle land. Its rocks of security were the houses of civilians - the women and children going about their day to day activities.

To Staff Sergeant Dahanayake, the task seemed very clear. They had to destroy this main terrorist camp which lay about one kilometre away from Kopai town, northern Sri Lanka. But like a fungus, the camp of the terrorists had spread. The camp had a double layer of protection. Just outside it stood tall buildings, most of which had been painted green, but five buildings that were particularly camouflaged stood out like huge batik paintings. It was clear that they belonged to the camp itself and served as its offices. Beyond the buildings lay the thick jungle, thus giving the terrorists a double layer of sponging, lest any pounding on the camp itself was to be even thought of. The branches of the huge trees had been roughly, yet carefully pulled together giving an umbrella of protection to the camp itself. Thus from air, the camp was not visible at all - all that could be seen instead was a cluster of branches. The trees that gave a natural fence of protection all around were palm trees. There were palm trees. There were bunkers in and around the camp and trenches were the main route of travel. The terrorists moved with a carefree ease along these trenches, knowing that nothing could surely go wrong - not in this part of the land and not with this kind of carefully attained security.

Snoozing

What they were unaware of was that the Sri Lanka army had already received orders from the top to overrun this camp. And they were planning their attack. As the terrorists lay snoozing on that lazy August afternoon, the armoured brigade was full of life. "We were asked to take four BMP tanks, and a 8SR battalion. We were stocked with ammunition as T56, LMGs, GPMGs, mortars, RPGs, 40 mm grenade launchers, 60 mm mortars etc.," recalled Sergeant Dahanayake. The tanks in the army that now marched forward included 30 m.m canons, 12.7 aircraft, 7.62P. KT guns, LMGs and RPGs. The army started from Kopai town at 2 p.m. They had to travel about a kilometre and covered the distance in one and a half hours. It was suddenly that the terrorists sprang to action, killing two foot soldiers in a flash. In front was the military escort and in line behind was the foot battalion. They were all firing and simultaneously moving ahead. But the enemy was not coming to face this large gathering of men and ammunition that had sprung on them like a flash of lightning. The tigers lay in ambush and shot at them. The bullets flew past the men, some hitting them. At this moment, ironically, the men of the Sri Lanka army had fewer expectations of living and greater hopes of winning.

Greater threat

The enemy was now aiming for the targets that posed the greater threat. Soon, the commanding officer of the armoured troop LT. N. S. Ilangakone who was on the tank was shot and injured in the hip. He was quickly taken to the rear and the tank was brought back again to its original position. As the men began to move forward, another commander, Corporal H. M. L. R. Bandara was shot dead. It was then that Sergeant Dahanayake found that he had to take the place of the Tank Commander LT. Ilangakone. But despite the loss of two men in key positions, the troops went ahead. "With the foot soldiers - we walked into the camp. As we went closer, we soon realised that we were threatened from all sides - from the front and from both flanks," said Dahanayake. The Sri Lanka army soon found that they were being fired at mercilessly. They had to do something. And they did so. Turning the tanks; they fired menacingly into the areas from where the shots came. The foot soldiers found that amidst the gunfire from the Sri Lanka army they were safe. The tank assault from the army was crumbling the enemy into subservience. While buildings were beginning to fall the abodes of the civilians that lay in and around the camp were carefully spared. Such was the precision of the firing of the Sri Lanka Army.

Fall apart

As the walls and palm fences began to fall apart, the troops found that they had made their way to the camp itself. Dahanayake found that he was commanding two tanks on the side - the foot soldiers formed a line - and then the four tanks began an uninterrupted assault on the camp and simultaneously lunged forward.

Then the violent firing stopped. They waited for ten minutes for something to happen - to hear a lone shot from somewhere. But there was none. Then the soldiers began to get off the tanks. Curiousity and victory welled up in their very being. The men of the Sri Lanka army began to search around the camp - just in time to see the terrorists flee along the trenches carrying some of their injured with them. The camp was scattered with dead men. In the camp the army found uniforms and clothes belonging the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and an assortment of boots, boat engines and parts of sailing craft, oil, diesel and cooking utensils. The camp had been a comfortable abode for the enemy and all meals had been cooked there. The men soon informed the operational headquarters of their victory and it did not take time for Colonel Jayasundera and Major Pushpadeniya to come over to applaud the men for a job well done. Sergeant Dahanayake's initiative and resourcefulness in commanding two tanks did not go unrewarded. The government of Sri Lanka decorated him with the Rana Wickrema Padakkama. For a thirty four year old young man, married, with one child, to forge ahead so readily, willing to sacrifice his life for his motherland is an act that is admirable indeed.

(The Sunday Leader - 13th December 1998)