Sri Lankan government declares victory

All the civilians who had been held by the Tamil Tigers inside Sri Lanka's war zone have been freed, the military has said. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said: "All civilians from Vellimullivaikal have been rescued. The troops are still fighting the LTTE. "Over 50,000 have been rescued since Thursday." Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have since launched suicide attacks against Sri Lankan troops to deliver a death blow to the separatists after the president declared victory in Asia's longest modern war, the military said. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has returned to the country early, the day after he said the LTTE had been defeated in the 25-year civil war, even as combat still raged in the island's northeast. The military said it had rescued all the civilians being held by the LTTE as human shields, removing the last barrier to unleashing overwhelming firepower on the well-armed LTTE. The LTTE, founded on a culture of suicide before surrender, showed no sign of giving up in the face of an overwhelming military onslaught that has given no quarter in a relentless offensive nearing its third year. Troops killed at least 70 Tamil fighters masquerading as civilians who tried to cross the Nanthikadal lagoon, on the western side of the battlezone, in six boats. Blasts rocked the remaining rebel-held area, now measuring barely a square kilometre (0.5 sq mile), the military said. Mr Nanayakkara said: "Suicide explosions are taking place. Suicide cadres are coming in front of troops in the frontline and exploding themselves."

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ITN | May 17, 2009

Tags:. .udaya. .battlezone. .brigadier. .mahinda. .firepower