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Sri Lanka's War Successes Due to Change in Strategy
Sri Lanka's Air Force Commander Jayalath Weerakkoday has said that the successes the government forces achieved in the war against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels was due to a change in strategy from matching enemy fire power to acquiring superior fire power.
He disagreed with the theory that the long-running war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was unwinnable. The Tiger rebels can be defeated as demonstrated by recent success in the battlefield, he was quoted by The Island newspaper as saying on Monday.
Explaining the loss of several aircraft in the recent past he said it was due to lack of equipment. But with more equipment due to come this year the Tiger rebels can be defeated.
The air force, due to celebrate its 50th anniversary next month, had developed through the years and were even turning out their own helicopters.
The biggest victory for the air force through the years was defending the island country's territorial integrity, he noted.
The territorial integrity of the country has been threatened by LTTE rebels who have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east in an ambitious attempt to set up an independent homeland for minority Tamils.
Since September last year government forces have successfully launched a series of military campaign against the rebels and almost the entire Jaffna peninsula in the north is under their control.
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