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Sri Lanka's military says separatist leader dead, battle over

RIA Novosti

13:5018/05/2009 COLOMBO, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Sri Lankan military said on Monday that the Tamil Tiger separatists have been defeated and their leader killed in a battle in the northeast of the country, bringing an end to 25 years of civil war.

State television reports said the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Velupillai Prabhakaran, was killed by the military, but did not give further details.

Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, the head of the army, said: "We have liberated the entire country by completely liberating the north from the terrorists. We have gained full control of LTTE-held areas."

The announcement came after the military said it had surrounded the rebel leader. Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said a total of 250 rebels were killed during fighting overnight.

No reporters or aid workers have been allowed near the war zone in the south Asian island nation, so the military's reports have yet to be independently confirmed.

On Sunday the army said that tens of thousands of civilians who had been held hostage by separatists in a small coastal strip had escaped, and that the rebels are were trapped. The military had accused militants of shooting at civilians fleeing the area.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had already declared the army's victory over the insurgents, sparking street celebrations in Colombo on Sunday.

According to United Nations data, 7,000 civilians have died in the conflict. International rights groups have accused the military of shelling the rebels in the war zone, killing large numbers of civilians who were being used as human shields. The government has denied the allegation.