Prabhakaran will be caught soon: Ex-LTTE commander

A former top commander of the LTTE has said the elusive Tiger chief would not be able to escape from Sri Lanka in view of the strict vigil across the island.

Voicing confidence that Velupillai Prabhakaran would not be able to escape from Sri Lanka in view of the strict vigil across the island,a former top commander of the LTTE has said the elusive Tiger chief will be caught soon if he has already come out of the No Fire Zone.

8220;I am confident that Prabhakaran is still in the No Fire Zone as is widely believed and also stated by the surrendered LTTE militants. But even if he has escaped from there,he could not have gone beyond Sri Lanka and will be caught soon,8221; Karuna Amman,the former second-in-command of the LTTE who fell out with Prabhakaran in 2004,said.

Karuna,now the minister for National Integration and Reconciliation in the Rajapaksa Cabinet,said that he had tried to persuade Prabhakaran several times to look for a political solution to the decades-old ethnic conflict. The LTTE supremo would,however,never fully subscribe to it and preferred an offensive,he said.

According to Karuna,Prabhakaran could have tried to escape to northwestern Mannar,Vavuniya or even Kandy to initiate guerrilla war tactics,but it was not possible for him now.

8220;There is a world of difference in the conditions that existed during the IPKF Indian Peace Keeping Force which was in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990 days when Prabhakaran had the support from some sections of the people in the Wanni and now,8221; he said.

Karuna said even if Prabhakaran was to move to Kandy,Vavuniya or Mannar,he would not be able to win the support of the people there and would get caught by security forces.

8220;I do not think it is easy for him to leave the No Fire Zone. But if he has,he would have to hide from places to places in the jungles in the North and won8217;t be able to carry on too far,8221; said Karuna,alias Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan.

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Karuna,who formed Tamil Makkal Vithuthai Pulligal TMVP after he split from LTTE in 2004,was recently appointed the Vice President of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLFP.

According to Karuna,Prabhakaran would not be having more than 1000 fighters,including the newly-trained ones,and that the security forces were cautious in dealing with them as Tamil civilians were still forcibly under control of the LTTE.

8220;I do not think there will be more than 1000 LTTE fighters and about 20,000 Tamil civilians under their clutches.8221;

A senior Sri Lankan army commander had earlier this week said that Prabhakaran and his top aides were recently missed by a whisker by security forces near Pudukudiyirippu.

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8220;We got to know that Prabhakaran had moved through the Pudukudiryirippu-Iranmalai road on a day between March 29-31,just about two days before the army fully laid a siege to that area,8221; Brig Shavendra Silva had said in Kilinochchi.

Daya Master,a senior LTTE leader who has surrendered,also told the army that Prabhakaran was still in No Fire Zone.

The naval blockade has been further strengthened around northern Mullaittivu close to areas where LTTE cadres still has access to the sea.