Major shake-up, clean-up after Tigers' bombings

Major shake-up, clean-up after Tigers' bombings

COLOMBO (AFP): Heads have rolled at Sri Lanka's key military
airbase following an attack by Tamil rebels that destroyed or
damaged 24 military and civilian aircraft, officials said on
Sunday.

Two senior air force officers were removed from their posts at
the Katunayake base, the home of the island's supersonic aircraft
fleet, as a probe into Tuesday's rebel attack in Colombo was
underway, officials said.

They said investigations have found that eight military
aircraft were completely destroyed while another 10 aircraft were
also damaged, but in a repairable condition following the
embarrassing assault.

A group of some 14 members of the separatist Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) penetrated the defenses of the Katunayake
airbase, destroyed the military aircraft and torched a fuel
storage tank without being challenged.

The rebels then moved to the adjoining Bandaranaike
International Airport where they completely destroyed three
passenger jets of the SriLankan Airlines and damaged three more
Airbus aircraft parked there.

A total of 14 rebels and seven security personnel were killed
in the attack but no passengers were hurt.

The airport was closed for 36 hours after the attack, which
reduced the national carrier's fleet by half to six Airbus
aircraft.

International flights have resumed to Sri Lanka but the
national carrier has scaled down its flights due to the lack of
aircraft.

Airline officials said a major clean-up operation got underway
on Sunday as insurers gave clearance to remove the debris that
was obstructing one of the two aprons at the country's only
international airport.

Heavy earth moving equipment was used to remove tons of debris
from the two brand-new Airbus A-330 aircraft and one A-340 burnt
to ashes.

A spokesman for SriLankan said that experts from French-led
Airbus Industrie and insurance loss adjusters were currently
evaluating the damage to three other planes, one A-340 and two A-
320 aircraft that could be repaired.

"We hope all three could be up and flying in about two to
three months," an airline spokesman said adding that they had
been assured of tighter security at the airport to resume
operations.

On Saturday, the defense ministry announced an increase in
security at the airport with another perimeter fence put in place
to prevent a recurrence of Tuesday's devastating attack.

"The perimeter of the international airport has been
strengthened with a strong obstacle belt and additional manpower
is presently deployed to secure the entire perimeter," the
ministry said in a statement.

The statement came as airlines braced for higher insurance
charges following the rebel attack, which President Chandrika
Kumaratunga described as the "most horrendous" raid against an
economic target in the country.

The defense ministry said it had ensured that there would not
be a repetition of the breach of security seen on Tuesday.
"The government is committed to devise and implement all
necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of airline
passengers and the safe and orderly conduct of international air
transport," the ministry said.

The airport authorities have since Thursday imposed a ban on
private jets, re-fueling stops and ad-hoc charters as the airport
limped back to normality.

Civil aviation officials said the measure was taken to give
priority to scheduled commercial flights within the restricted
space where only eight aircraft could now be parked at a time.

SriLankan Airlines said it feared flight cancellations and a
drop in demand for seats to Colombo after European countries
warned their nationals against visiting the strife-torn island.