The Sri Lankan Army is all set to launch a final assault to eliminate the remnant LTTE cadres and trace the top Tiger leadership including its supremo V Prabhakaran, as the last among the remaining 50,000 civilians fled the conflict zone today.
As President Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to Colombo from Jordon after declaring that the LTTE had been defeated militarily, jubilant crowds thronged the streets and held processions in the capital and elsewhere on Sunday.
"Troops have rescued all civilians held as hostage by the LTTE and taken them to safer areas... Sri Lankan soldiers have boxed remaining LTTE cadres into a 400m x 600m land stretch in Wellaimullaivaikkal area," the defence ministry said in a statement.
Military spokesperson Udaya Nanayakkara said that over 50,000 civilians have escaped the area in last 72 hours, even as 70 rebels trying to flee through water route were killed early this morning.
Soldiers have reached the concluding phase of their operation as over 36,000 civilians fled the No-Fire Zone in the last 24 hours, the ministry said, adding three divisions of the Army have entered the area where LTTE leaders were "cowering" among civilians during the last couple of weeks.
"Soldiers are now looking for disabled people that may be left in the area as almost all others held hostage by the terrorists were rescued," the ministry said.
Confronting the LTTE fighters, who tried to breach an Army defence line on the west of the Nanthikadal lagoon, the Army early this morning killed 70 Tiger rebels and destroyed six boats, the military said.
The Army earlier said that two top LTTE leaders, Swarnam and Shashi Master, were killed in fierce fighting during the last legs of confrontation between troops and LTTE on Saturday.
Blaming the government of unleashing an "unprecedented human carnage" in Wanni, the LTTE earlier said it was ready to do anything to save the Tamil civilians.
"The situation in Wanni has reached colossal proportions and what is happening there is unprecedented human carnage," S Pathmanathan, head of LTTE's International Diplomatic Relations was quoted by the pro-rebel website Tamilnet.
"At this juncture we are ready to do anything necessary to save the Tamil people trapped in the unrelenting war. We heed the call by the US President and are prepared to take measures that will spare the life of our people," Pathmanathan said.
He said the international community should now "act with fairness" and take "full responsibility" for the people.He said, "encouraged by the hopeful words of President Obama," the LTTE was willing to enter a political process facilitated by neutral international parties and find a meaningful solution to the ethnic crisis.
