Bhanu (Tamil militant)
Sivanadan Somasekaran known by his nom de guerre, Bhanu, was a leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka. Bhanu is widely regarded as one of the LTTE's finest field commanders, and is credited with raising the LTTE's artillery and mortar units. Bhanu played leading roles in LTTE victories at Pooneryn, Mullaitivu, and Elephant Pass.
Early life
Bhanu was born in Ariyalai in 1962. Little is known about his childhood and family. He joined the LTTE in 1983 after being affected by the widespread state-sponsored anti-Tamil violence that plagued Sri Lanka during the early 1980s.Eelam War
Bhanu took part in several combat operations against the Sri Lankan Army during Eelam War I, and distinguished himself as a capable field officer during the Indo-LTTE War where he served as the commander for Mannar District and led Tiger cadres in several counter-offensives against the Indian Army. Bhanu led the Tiger assault on the Jaffna Fort, and helped the LTTE recapture the Jaffna Peninsula in late 1990 following the departure of the Indian Army.Bhanu was then redeployed to the Vanni to oversee Tiger offensives against the Sri Lankan Army. In 1993, Bhanu, alongside Theepan, led the LTTE assault on the Pooneryn army camp. Bhanu targeted the main naval camp at Nagathevanthurai while Theepan demolished the main army camp in Pooneryn. Bhanu discharged his duties efficiently and virtually demolished the navy camp while Theepan successfully routed the army and captured two T-55 battle tanks. Following the death of Col.Kittu, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran appointed Bhanu as the military commander for Jaffna. In 1995, Prabhakaran appointed Bhanu and Theepan as joint commanders to defend the Jaffna Peninsula from a large-scale army offensive. Their assignment was to delay the army and prevent the take-over of Jaffna before Great Heroes Day. Bhanu and Theepan offered fierce resistance as all the main routes to Jaffna were gradually surrounded by the army. While the army began to box the Tigers inside Jaffna town, Bhanu and Theepan managed to prevent the fall of Jaffna until early December before withdrawing, alongside hundreds of LTTE cadres, by wading through the Pannai lagoon until the Sea Tigers, led by Soosai, evacuated them to Vanni. Bhanu played a key role in Operation Unceasing Waves 1, where the Tigers completely overran the Mullaitivu army base and secured total control over the Mullaitivu District. The LTTE captured several artillery and mortar guns from the army at Mullaitivu, and Prabhakaran subsequently appointed Bhanu in-charge of raising the LTTE's mortar and artillery brigades. Under Bhanu's leadership, the LTTE successfully raised its artillery unit, known as the Kittu Artillery Brigade, which by 2008, included 130mm Type 59-1 field guns, 152mm Type 66 gun-howitzers, 120mm T-86 & T-83s, and Type 63 multiple rocket launchers. The LTTE's mortar unit, known as the Kutti Sri Mortar Brigade, possessed several mortar guns which had been previously captured from the army at Pulukunawa, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass, and included several homemade mortars such as the Baba Mortar and Pasilan 2000. Pleased with Bhanu’s work, Prabhakaran directed him to establish an armoured unit. Bhanu did so diligently, establishing the Victor Anti-Tank Unit & Suran Armoured Unit in 1997, which possessed the T-55 tanks captured from the army at Pooneryn alongside hundreds of RPG's.