Elephant Pass captured; A-9 Highway restored

“Elephant Pass" is the last LTTE bastion in Jaffna Peninsula to fall. A-9 highway, the main supply route to Jaffna from the mainland, has been fully restored.

Today (Jan 09) 53 Division commanded by Brigadier Kamal Gunaratne and 55 Division commanded by Brigadier Prasanna Silva based in the Muhamalai area have advanced nearly 22km South and captured the last LTTE bastion and hoist the National Flag once again in the strategically important Elephant Pass (EPS), which had been held by the LTTE for over eight years.

In 1990, EPS was developed into a major military base complex by Sri Lanka Army (SLA).

On 22nd April 2000, LTTE overran the EPS base complex after a tactical withdrawal by SLA.

The importance of the re-capture of Elephant Pass is that the A-9 highway, the main supply route to Jaffna from the mainland, has been restored. Now the entire A-9 highway is under Sri Lanka Government control. The public will have easy access without the need for the people of all communities to pay taxes/duties on their goods as was the case during the period after the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe on 22nd February 2002 until the beginning of 2006.

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