A Tamil Tiger suicide squad managed to destroy or badly damage fourteen aircraft in a devastating assault on Sri Lanka’s only international airport on July 24. The Colombo government conservatively estimates the economic cost of the attack at over $1 billion. This is roughly equivalent to seven years spending on education.
However, the repercussions of this latest blow against the fragile coalition of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her demoralised armed forces could be even more severe. The ten-hour blitz on Katunayaka airport and the adjoining airbase marked the anniversary of the anti-Tamil riots in Colombo in July 1983.
They sparked off the ethnic conflict between separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas and successive governments which has cost the lives of over 64 000 soldiers and civilians. It was also a decisive blow against the Sri Lankan Air Force, in revenge for bombing the northern Jaffna peninsula in June.