LTTE rebels perform live-fire exercise

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Various of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) fighters standing guard before live fire exercise 2. Fighters taking rebel oath 3. Various of Lieutenant Colonel V. Nishaanthan issuing instructions 4. SOUNDBITE (Tamil) Lieutenant Colonel V. Nishaanthan, Rebel Military Instructor: "Gaining territory is not a victory, it is a false hope. An example is the Jayasikuru (military) operation, what they capture in a year can be lost in a week because of our offensive attacks. That clearly shows we will again come out and attack them and wipe them out." 5. Various shots of LTTE rebel fighters undertaking live fire exercise STORYLINE Tamil Tiger guerrillas in camouflage uniforms carried out a live fire exercise on Friday, in which they attacked a mock government fort with gunfire, rockets and pipebombs. The rebels of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) carried out the early morning drill at a secret location in rebel-held territory in northern Sri Lanka. Reporters were allowed to film the exercise, and were transported to the location along back roads in the district of Kilinochchi. The drill was intended to show that the rebels still have a powerful military force, despite the government's announcement on Thursday that it had wrested control of eastern Sri Lanka this week from the group for the first time in 13 years. The rebels say they have simply switched to guerrilla tactics in the east, and they still maintain their virtual state in much of northern Sri Lanka. "Gaining territory is not victory, it is a false hope. We will again come out and attack (the government)," said Lieutenant Colonel V. Nishaanthan, who led the training drills on Friday. Rebel leaders said the exercise was meant as practice for future attacks on government positions on the nearby front lines. As the cadres prepared for the drills, shells fired by government forces exploded in the distance. Many of the fighters were dressed in the striped fatigues that have become the Tigers' trademark. Others wore olive green uniforms with ammunition vests. Many wore flip flops, some were barefoot. The training ground was a vast plain of white sand, dotted with small patches of brush. Rusting bullet cases lay on the ground, signalling it had been used before, but not recently. The Tamil Tigers, listed as a terror organisation by much of the West, have carried out scores of attacks in their struggle for an independent homeland for minority Tamils. About 70-thousand people have been killed in more than two decades of fighting. The violence ebbed after Norway brokered a cease-fire between the government and Tigers in 2002, but fighting has flared up again over the past 20 months, with assassinations, airstrikes and steady fighting killing more than 5-thousand people. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/bb3f2210e4925ff74229291fc68a0086 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork