Tamil Tiger rebels concede defeat
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The Tamil Tiger rebels admitted defeat in their 25-year-old war with the Sri Lankan government yesterday, offering to lay down their guns as government forces swept across last strongholds in the northeast.
The government rejected the last-ditch call for a cease-fire, saying thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone all have been safe and there was no longer any reason to stop the battle. With a war that has killed well over 70,000 people nearing its end, Sri Lankans poured into the streets in spontaneous celebration.
The fate of the Tamil Tigers' top commanders remained unclear, including the whereabouts of the reclusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. A senior military official said troops found the bodies of several rebel fighters who had committed suicide yesterday when troops surrounded them.
The bodies were suspected of being Prabhakaran and his deputies, but the military was still trying to confirm their identities, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The tattered and nearly defeated rebel group offered to lay down its arms yesterday, saying it was acting to protect the wounded in the war zone. "This battle has reached its bitter end," rebel official Selvarasa Pathmanathan said in a statement.