The Sri Lankan army had not been able to contribute a lot in Galle and even a week after tsunami looters and criminals had enjoyed a free zone in Unawatuna.

High rank army leaders had indeed preferred to keep most of their troops in unaffected Northern regions using "the Tamil threat" as their excuse for not having sent their troops to help in the shattered coastal areas.

At the same time there had been no looting in the Tamil territory at all, as this would have led to instant execution.