Lankan forces sink LTTE vessel carrying weapons

Large quantities of weapons and ammunition including artillery guns were on board the ill-fated vessel, reports PK Balachandran.

The Sri Lankan Navy and Air force sank a large vessel carrying weapons and ammunition for the LTTE on Sunday, according to Lakshman Hulugalla, Director General of the government Media Centre for National Security (MCNS).

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The vessel, sailing in the deep seas around one hundred nautical miles off Kalmunai in South East Sri Lanka, was destroyed around noon, Hulugalla said in a release.

Large quantities of weapons and ammunition including artillery guns were on board the ill-fated vessel.

Detected around 7.30 am, the ship had completely ignored the warning shots fired by the naval patrol craft to stop, and opened fire. Subsequently, the Navy, with the assistance of the Air Force, destroyed and sunk the vessel.

“It is now confirmed that the vessel had illegally carried weapons and ammunition for the LTTE,” Hulugalla said.

Pointing to un-named collaborators, he said that the incident clearly indicated the existence of some organizations that were seeking to protect the LTTE following its humiliating defeat in the Northern and the Eastern regions.