Sri Lanka war to end in 48 Hours: President
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, May 15, IRNA - Sri Lanka said that the country's over 30-year-old ethnic conflict with the LTTE rebels is to end within the next 48 hours with the rescuing of all civilians caught in fighting in a shrinking strip of land held by Tamil separatist rebels in northeast.
According to Indian official media report, the Government Director of Information told reporters in Colombo on Friday that President Mahinda Rajapaksa made the declaration on Thursday night while speaking to Sri Lankans living in Jordan during a two-day official visit to the country.
The announcement came as the military kept up its offensive to crush the Tamil Tigers Thursday in the rebel group's last remaining stronghold, despite the UN Security Council's expression of grave concern over a worsening humanitarian crisis in the war zone.
Troops have surrounded the Tamil rebels in Karayimullivaikkal and Mullivalikkal areas--just 3.5 sq km in extent in the northeastern Mullaithivu district.
Meanwhile, the military said on Thursday about 2,000 ethnic Tamil civilians braved rebel fire and waded across a lagoon to escape the conflict zone, which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said is wracked by fierce battles.
More than four civilians were killed and 14 others wounded when the rebels shot at them as they waded across the lagoon, which forms the front line of the war, the military said.
The troops said that they had heard a loud explosion followed by a thick black smoke coming 200 meters high from the rebel holds around 6.30 p.m. local time Thursday (1230 GMT).
All rebel communications had ceased after the explosion, military said.
More than 70,000 were killed in the island's separatist war waged by the Tiger rebels to carve out a separate homeland for the minority Tamils.
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