PTK Liberated - over 420 bodies collected
As reported earlier by EFT, the 58th and Task Force 8 (attached to the 53rd) boxed in the remnants of the LTTE's PTK fighting force north east of PTK, by last evening the vast majority of these trapped cadres were annhilated by the SLA. Over 420 bodies were collected during clearing operations (the official count stands at 250). The cadres were hunted down only after offering them a chance to surrender - about 70 did surrender, the scenes of surrender are reminiscent of Iraqi soldiers surrendering to the coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War (our source has videos and pictures of these surrender scenes, we will upload them here if they receive clearance!).
The LTTE were not able to send in a rescue force to get these trapped cadres out as the SF had infiltrated the borders of the NFZ (as reported earlier by EFT). The SF were able to neutralize attempted LTTE incursions from the NFZ into the boxed in area.
The SLAF ably supported the SLA during this annhilation mission and used their recently acquired arsenal of laser guided A2S missiles to strike at identified targets with pin point accuracy, as has been reported by other sources - self styled "Colonel" Vidusha (commander of the Malathi brigade), "Colonel" Theepan and Nagesh, Duruga, Gadaffi (high rankers) along with other middle rung leaders have reportedly died in these air strikes.
The bodies of Theepan, Duruga and Vidusha's are said to be among the recovered corpses, an MI team from Colombo is on their way to the scene to establish the identity of the dead leaders.
Civilian exodus expected any minute now
With the trapping of the LTTE in the NFZ, the civilians are getting ready to abandon the NFZ and flee into cleared areas. Within the next 48 hours, the exodus is set to start (some say it has already started). LRRP is conducting limited operations inside the NFZ, but due to the sensitive nature of these operations, we will not reveal details. A UNHCR delegation is already in Sri Lanka , their mission is to observe the civilian exodus and ensure their welfare needs are met. If the LTTE holds the civilians any longer, they are making it worse for themselves as it would give the SLA more time to annhilate the remaining cadres, if they flee along with the civilians, they will be picked up and sent to rehabilitation.
A number of SLA infantrymen and SF soldiers have laid down their lives in the past few days of fighting, we would ask our readers to pay tribute to these fallen bravehearts.
EFT
Pictured are "Colonel" Theepan and "Colonel" Vidusha in an LTTE cerenomy held at Pallai in 2003. May they rust in peace.
59 comments:
Meanwhile we urge every one to be vigilant and pay their part towards motherland.
and show your gratitude to these heroes by contributing to various welfare funds dedicated to them....
Thanks! Mahen.
Mahen,
"A number of SLA infantrymen and SF soldiers have laid down their lives in the past few days of fighting, we would ask our readers to pay tribute to these fallen bravehearts."
Yes, this is something I have vowed too carry on until the day I die and beyond.
Mahen, You are probably close to SLA MI. Why do you publish SF and LRRP related info here? Its too early.. not good..
Where are all the monkeys..?
I know Upul will say tigers boxed and annihilated 58 (of course, again.. and again.. and also 57 and 59 again..).
Peter will say his sister called to Theepan even few mins before..
Badrinath will say exif data is deleted in the captured weapons and no pics of dead cadres.. or its only 419 cadres in the pic but news says 420 dead.. what happened to the remaining cadre..? So the news is a lie.. Ha ha or News says 100 guns captured but there are 110 in the pic.. so news is a lie or photo is fake.. ha ha
Navindran will say SL economy collapsed so peelaam happens automatically..
What about other monkeys..?
Ninja,
All the monkeys are KIP (killed in partying) after annihilating 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62,63,64,65,66,66,67,68,69,70 etc. They all died by alcohol intoxication.
http://www.lankaenews.com/Sinhala/news.php?id=8509
....................
--SLA goes for the kill-460 bodies recovered so far-
||::CeylonDefence::|| updated
Click here
....................
We Love you China
Guys,
I'm Happy that those guys were killed.
But we should respect them; at least they died fighting in the battle field & they have balls to do so, NOT like the FAT ASS Vesapillei & his Top Ass holes who is still shamelessly hiding among Innocent civilians .
By the way; is this 500 odd dead are hardcore cadres or MONGAL PADE (MAD FART) maid of civilians???
Defence.lk is updated with photos.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=videos&search_query=lkwebnews&search_sort=video_date_uploaded
Rupavahini update
So far the updated list for the week ending 05.04.09:
Amuthab
Gopith
Theepan
Ruben
Nagesh
Gadaphi
Vidusha
Durga
Kamalini
Manniwanna (arti-Mani)
Adithyan
Soon to be in the list:
- Bhanu
This OP was planned based on UAV, MI and defected carders information.
SF and Commandos used heavily behind the enemy line. Other infantry teams on almost man to man.
Out fire power is such that no backup even reach the line.
VP or Pottu will not be surrendred and Exodus is anytime soon once the fire clear.
May not be the end but last phase of the end.
Not suprisingly using the ground situation and diversion to max, 55 also in the party ):
An bets who will publish the first photos of the leaders ?
Sri Lanka military says 25-year war in final act
Sun Apr 5, 2009 12:27pm
By C. Bryson Hull
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military said on Sunday troops had confined the Tamil Tiger rebels to a no-fire zone, where the last act of the 25-year separatist war will play out with tens of thousands of civilians still trapped.
Three separate units killed at least 420 rebels after surrounding them in a triangle-shaped single square kilometre (0.5 square mile) during a three-day battle, the military said.
That means the remaining rebel-held area is less than 20 square km (8 sq miles) of coconut groves on the Indian Ocean island's northeast coast where the United Nations has said the Tigers have kept more than 100,000 civilians as human shields.
"The only uncleared area left is the no-fire zone," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. "We have recovered over 420 bodies over the last three days."
Troops confirmed they had killed the head security officer for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) founder and leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, Gaddhafi; the head of the LTTE's female fighters, Vidusha, and commander Theepan.
And there were signs the elusive Prabhakaran was near: soldiers found a bullet-proof car he was believed to have been using which was torched. The state-owned Sunday Observer newspaper said troops found his birth certificate and photo albums.
The Tigers could not be reached for immediate comment and it is difficult to verify casualty figures given by either side since independent observers are generally barred from the war zone and both sides have been known to distort them.
SIEGE TO START
The arrival of troops at the no-fire zone signals the beginning of what diplomats and aid agencies say will be the most difficult and possibly deadly phase of a military campaign that has in less than three years put the Tigers near conventional defeat.
The best choice, diplomats say, is besieging the area, since it would offer the most protection for civilians there.
Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotababya Rajapaksa, the top civilian in charge of the war, told Reuters soldiers would be in no hurry, especially since intelligence reports show dissension against the LTTE brewing in the area.
"Time is not a factor here. Our major concern is to get these civilians out of the LTTE-controlled area. Very soon, you will see a lot of civilians coming out and making the task of the military easier," he said.
At least 62,100 people have fled from Tiger-held areas since the start of the year, and about half that number since the army neared the no-fire zone. That is despite the Tigers shooting at them, according to those who have escaped.
The Tigers, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations have all accused the military of shelling civilian areas, which the government denies as a propaganda ploy to try and build international pressure for a truce so the LTTE can re-arm.
Sri Lanka's military has swiftly done what had, over the course of a war that started in 1983, become thought of as an impossible task -- recapturing nearly all of the 15,000 square km held by the Tigers in the island's north and east.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has vowed the LTTE will either surrender or be destroyed.
The Tigers have so far refused to give up their fight for an independent state for Sri Lanka'a minority Tamils, who complain of discrimination by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since independence from Britain in 1948.
(Additional reporting by Shihar Aneez, Editing by Dean Yates)
Mahen,
Forgive me. This is it. Everything is beyond my control
lolz
how does one post a clickable link rather than pasting the url? pl help
The War has started in Melbourne.
LTTE thugs have attached peaceful demonstration organised by Sri lankans in front of the Victorian Parliament.
where is the vp ball
How to insert html link
Monkeys living in Denial
Bhairav said...
Badri, give us some update. As pro-govern sites say, are they captured 400+ bodies of LTTE?
If you've noticed lately, SLAF uses laser guided rockets which can be acquired from GR's recent visit to China.
-----------------------------------------
Editor: "Badrinath" said...
They claim to have recovered 700 T-56 weapons, which means the remaining "400 LTTE fighters" each must have been carrying 2 guns. From the photos they show I see 15 bodies so far.
-----------------------------------------
Editor: "Badrinath" said...
"Conceding that the rebels have lost 4,000 of their cadres in the last two years of fighting, Nadesan also claimed that the rebels have killed over 20,000 Sri Lankan soldiers over the period."
-----------------------------------------
Peter said...
1. We know that they will publish photos of dead Tigers, as soon as they find them, mindless of the state of the bodies.
2. We know that the number they recovered is less than 15 and not the 420 floated around
Except for "Bhairav" the rest are either blissfully ignorant or are in complete denial
Prabha is dead. Everybody here at the control room is awaiting confirmation, prez may announce soon.
Some interesting postings from Puligal
Peter said...
Life for civilians in orderly, but challenging.
Tamileelam Administrative Service and Health Service are doing all they can.
A lot of cadres, unarmed, are deployed to give medical advise to ensure that infective disease does not spread.
Equal number are giving kanchi to the displaced, twice daily to prevent death by starvation.
When you read of "forced conscription" bear in mind that several dozen cadres are actually doing 'social service' instead of being on the front-line.
Whatever may happen on the battlefront, people will not be able to stay in current areas after April as the weather will turn worse
Peter said...
Most cadres from all other administrative wings, if not involved in civil duty, have been inducted into the fighting force. A lot of the Lt. Col. casualties from recent months were from these departments. Lt. Col. Kaanthan was a well known personality at Nanthavanam. Others include Lt. Col. Sri from the information department
everywhere it is music to my ears! oh my god i am having it!
I have attempted to post this in Puligal, but as the case with LTTE and their supporters, dissenting voices among fellow Tamils are not allowed and I am shut out from the site hence I am compelled to post my opinions in blogs run by singhalas as the world need to know that Tamils and LTTE barbarians (and their supporters) are not one & the same.
Main thrust of what I’ve written is as follows:
“In recent times LTTE have shown no strategic direction at all and what we witness today are logical consequences of its own actions. If LTTE has an iota of common sense left, they would have announced an unconditional surrender by now. (I argued earlier (pulgal) that they should have done this few months ago as it would have ensured that the surrender takes place with some sort of strategic bargaining power left with the LTTE. Now the position is much worse, still its better to surrender and try to minimize losses).
If LTTE is adamant on fighting to the end, they do have a great moral responsibility to let the civilians go, as taking cover behind civilians is not ‘warrior’ like at all even though some diaspora brothers seem to think so.
Failure to release civilians at least at this last moment will further reveal the true colors of LTTE to the whole world (which is not a bad thing to happen), but unfortunately the human (civilian) cost to it would be too high to bear.
Both LTTE and sections of the diaspora have been taking an ‘all or nothing’ attitude over the years, and since it’s not going to be ‘all’ for sure what they will end up with is ‘nothing’. (In that sense one might say they got their wish.)
Now the brainwashed sections of the diaspora can react by hurling insults at people like me, denying the recent debacles, and predicting an economic collapse which will guarantee Eelam by default. In fact I am confident all three will be used simultaneously. But the truth of the matter is these nonsensical arguments will not change the ground realities at all.
High time to Tamils to think beyond LTTE.
Mahen, are we going to call for a ceasefire as you mentioned earlier to let civilians be rescued by IC or are we doing the rescue op. our selves?
Editor Bardinath is the Part 2 of the Ellan Force.
මේ ඩිස්පෝරා එවුන්ට එක්කෝ ලැජ්ජාවක් නෑ එහෙම නැත්නම් මොළයක් නෑ. කඩේ යන එකේ සීමාවකුත් නෑ..
මේ ප්රහාරයේ සහ නැතිවෙච්ච එකේ ලැජ්ජාව යන්න හෙට අනිද්දා මරාගෙන මැරෙන එවුන් එලුවෝ හරක් හරි මරන්න ඉඩ තියෙනවා.
තම තමන්ගේ ආරක්ෂාව තම තමන් සළකගන්න ගමන් අනිත් අය ගැනත් විමසිල්ලෙන් ඉන්න.
I fully agree with Ninja's request.
It is way too early to celebrate or accept any victories as Prabhakaran or Pottu Amman are not among the captured or dead. If these two escape, then the fat lady can caugh many times or clear her throat, it is not going to help at all.
We really don't know what LTTE has in store as its end game. Tamil Diaspora is trying their best to get International involvement to save the LTTE top leaders, so any one getting killed other than the two names given above are just dummies as far as LTTE is concerned. If their top leaders survive, they can always start another war in few years.
I am very worried as to why Mahen or whoever posting these inside stories which will only give our government and the military more pressure from the UN, India and Western countries in order to save the two top LTTE leaders.
Please do not take me wrong, I have helped a lot in my own ways the GOSL to win this war against LTTE and I always pay tribute to our soldiers. But at the same time I do not need to read this sort of articles to keep me going.
What LTTE has done to Sri Lanka, including to its moderare Tamils, killing of Rajiv Gandhi, R. Premadasa (who even after secretly helping LTTE in many ways), suicide killings, and finally defeating Ranil Wickremasinghe from achieving peace through negotiations, it is clear LTTE should be destroyed if Sri Lanka ever going to achieve any kind of peace. So, we do not need to see these articles to motivate us. LTTE's attrocites should have motivated not only the Sinhalese and the Muslims but also the Tamils.
LTTE massacred many Sinhalese and Muslim villagers in the Eastern province many times in the past, and committed genocide themselves, so its a joke their supporters are calling the government of doing the same.
Those acts by LTTE should have motivated and encouraged any Sri Lankan or any peace loving person to oppose LTTE, except their own supporters!
Thank you.
the story from the other side(tamil diaspora) goes as follows.
1) sri lanka is desperate to get IMF bali-out - that is true IMHO, i never approved of the way the giverment handles the economy but if war is being fought right then i can live with it.
2) to get IMF bail-out SL needs to go for a cease-fire.
3) to go for a cease-fire GOSL needs some big propoganda boost to convey we're winning big time.
So in my IMHO the only way the diaspora can be pursued to belive that we're really winning and that they are really loosing is to show the bodies of all dead leaders and cadres. not only theepan and vishuda. more importantly the current offensive should not be paused. if there is a pause to it then diaspora's story has a bearing.
සොඳුරැ අතීතය
http://ttnet.netfast.org/features/ltte/theltte.html
Isurujosh;
If diaspora really believes that there is life left for them, I think we should keep them thinking so. One reason behind our success is the under-estimation they had in us.
There is no gain in convincing. They won't stop funding, but they will try alternatives. Right now we do not want that. I prefer the TRO bigwigs buying restaurants on the extortion under non-existing Pussycats, than donating it to some other donkey to start a fresh movement.
Gladly, Diaspora has long lost its sense and even when I write like this I'm confident that this will be discarded as pure crap by them.
Terrorists (either dead or alive) should not be treated respectfully or disrespectfully.
Most of those terras who were killed during the last three days must have participated some of the civilian massacres such as Sri Maha Bodhi and Aranthalawa. These were war criminals. They should be berried in unnamed graves and all the evidences of their evil existence should be erased.
"Elara" was a just king. He was our enemy because he was a foreign invader. We respect him because he gave his life to save the lives of his soldiers when the defeat was imminent. Look at the way "Pirabaharan" is behaving. A disgrace to Elara.
I think SKR got it wrong, the dead female tiger leader is definitely not Vitusha (Yarlini), I think it is Duruga (Thurga), here is a picture of Duruga (the one on the left):
http://tinyurl.com/caltpg
The dead woman resembles Duruga.
I am almost 100% certain it is Theepan that is in the video.
As I mentioned, identities will only be confirmed after MI team from Colombo completes their work, thats why defence.lk is not publishing the pics.
Wanni operation (video)
click here.
@Mahen,
you owe us a Blow-by-Blow account of how and what happened in the run up to ur claim of the "Pottu" incident.
no rush, after the rat race this week is over maybe?
"Ek Pul Do Maali"
එක මලයි උයන්පල්ලෝ දෙන්නයි
Dont worry ! Both Vidusha (SKR incorrectly pronounced as "Vishuda") and Durga was identified by two renowned MI persons from Colombo and Bati today.
These MI persons are known to public as Murali (ex col. Karuna Amman) and Pilleyan.
They used a well known military manovure called V.A.T (Vaginal Analytic Technique) to identify these two girls.
Those two vaginas were very well used by Karuna (during bunker days) and he can identify them even with closed eyes.
It is the same reason that Poddu Amman cried over the com line.
"Forgive me. This is it. Everything is beyond my control"
Those were romantic words of a lover than a command used by a fierce fighter.
(Titanic music)
While hearing these words Vidusha and Durga laughed at first becasue Poddu having in-mature ejacualtion always apologised to girls for things "beyond his control".
Then came the 2-SF Thermobaric.
(Titanic music)
- THE -END-
Directed by : Shaveendra Silva, Chaටi Gallage and Kamal Gunarathne
Story, Dialogue, and Screenplay by : Sarath Fonskea
"A Rajapakse Brothers Production"
I'm not Bhairav said...
How to insert html link
05 April 2009 15:28
-----------------------
Thank you Sir! I appreciate it.
Melbourne attack
Mariyakade, Are you serious?
Who are remaining?
1.VP
2. Poddu Amman
3. Kapil Amman
4. Sornam
5. Bhanu
6. Soosei
7. Laksman
8. Jeyam
9. Nagulan
10. Nadesan
Who else..?
Sujeewa, good point mate. but do you think we will pause the fighting and let IC take over hostage situ?
priceless take on things Single :lol
In a letter addressed to the Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangaree urged him to request the United Nations to intervene and ensure the safety of the trapped civilians.
- The Hindu
I made a comment on Puligal which they won't publish. Therefore I am sending it here.
Its all damn lies by the govt that Deepan, Gadaphi, Vidusha, Durga etc were killed. We even have a video of Vidusha making love to Pottu with today's date to prove she is alive.
Sujeewa Kokawala said...
Isurujosh;
If diaspora really believes that there is life left for them, I think we should keep them thinking so. One reason behind our success is the under-estimation they had in us.
----------------------------
I agree with your comment on Diaspora believing that there is hope for their dream of a 'nation'.
The back ground creation of Cyprus in 1974 and similarities of the situation (India, Tamilnadu) gave them hope. Possibly the lackluster way the war was conducted in the last 30 years and 'successes' of LTTE may have encouraged them to invest more in the dream. Also they may have thought other inhabitants of Sri Lanka will be passive spectators rather than active in the way like now.
However the changes in the world politics after 9/11 should have made them rethink. In fact I thought rushing to a CFA when unceasing waves 3 was having successes was due to this realization.
We must realise that there are 3 segments in the separatists.
(a) LTTE
(b) Tamil National Movement (the bigwigs behind the scene)
(c) Diaspora
LTTE may be coming to an end.
Diaspora is in a precarious situation now. They have invested so much in money and also in built up expectations. It is not easy for the Diaspora to comprehend the reality.
However the Tamil National Movement or the people in the background are working very fast. They don’t want to lose everything. They will with help of IC will exert maximum pressure to win more than the 13th amendment. The crucial part of the game will come to light after LTTE/civilian issues are gone.
I am praying that the leadership will be extra cautious on this as whatever the position the matter settles the next phase will start from there. The ‘dream’ of the nationhood will NOT go away with LTTE. If we give things in a way it cannot be taken back if they don’t give up the struggle, then god bless Sri Lanka.
Mahen, your Puligal blog is beyond a joke now. It is quite hilarious. All the usual monkeys (Badri, Peter, Navindran, etc) are convincing themselves vigorously that this is all made up. Goo-Bhairav is showing some signs of dissent, but the dissent is being crushed with real enthusiasm. Navindran is convinced that LTTE is withdrawing tactically, with the knowledge that the SL economy is about to collapse. I think he is borderline now.. if anyone knows him personally, please get him checked by a psychiatrist.
But sin no, these diaspora donkeys have contributed their hard-earned money for so long. We should create some way of assimilating them to civilized society when their asylum applications are rejected and they have to return to their motherland Sri Lanka.
Ladies,
We will try to bring the new article soon as possible.
We hear some one been striping his well known uniform.
Until we present, please go ahead with some guesses.
Who are remaining?
"1.VP
2. Poddu Amman
3. Kapil Amman
4. Sornam
5. Bhanu
6. Soosei
7. Laksman
8. Jeyam
9. Nagulan
10. Nadesan
Who else..?"
You forgot Charles Anthony, the gay son of VP.
We hear some one been striping his well known uniform.??
Vazzapilla has to strip his uniform because he is hiding among civis!
Mahen
..We hear some one been striping his well known uniform...
Who has well known uniform?
VP?
or Soosei (sea pusies uniform)
Can't remember any other well known uniform!
Its prabha. It was mentioned in one of the TV channels yesterday itself.
No hurry for ‘no-fire zone’: Gota
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, in an interview with the Reuters news agency said that troops were in no hurry to proceed to the ‘no-fire zone’.
Soldiers would not be in a hurry, especially when intelligence reports show dissension against the LTTE brewing in the area, he had said.
“Time is not a factor here. Our major concern is to get these civilians out of the LTTE-controlled area. Very soon, you will see a lot of civilians coming out and making the task of the military easier,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
- Daily Mirror
Tactical manoeuvre launched to free civilians: Sri Lanka
Mon, Apr 6 02:10 PM
Colombo, April 6 (IANS) Sri Lankan troops Monday launched a 'decisive tactical manoeuvre' to free thousands of civilians trapped in the Mullaitivu war-zone, a day after dealing a major military blow to the Tamil Tigers by capturing their last military bastion, defence authorities said here.
'Sri Lankan security forces have launched a decisive tactical manoeuvre to free hundreds of civilians held hostage by LTTE in the thin 17 sq km coastal land strip at Mullaitivu,' the defence ministry said Monday.
The operation to free civilians came a day after the advancing troops seized control of Puthukkudiyiruppu where the rebels have maintained several military and naval bases and armoury over the past three decades.
Describing it as the 'largest humanitarian intervention by a conventional military force in modern times', the defence ministry said that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 'tasted the worst defeat' Sunday when it lost over 450 guerrillas, including a dozen top-rung battled-hardened leaders in its failed bid to defend Puthukkudiyiruppu.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sunday night announced that the current fight-to-finish military campaign against the LTTE was about to end and urged the rebel leadership to set free thousands of civilians and surrender to the security forces to avoid total annihilation.
Speaking to party supporters at his tightly-guarded Temple Trees residence, President Rajapaksa said that the Tigers were unable to face the military thrust and were now hiding in the no-fire-zone holding thousands of innocent civilians as human shield.
'The only option available for the Tiger leadership is to lay down arms and surrender to our heroic troops if it wants to save the lives of the remaining cadres,' Rajapaksa said at the function amid loud applause from his party loyalists.
'The LTTE should allow the civilians to go free and surrender to the security forces,' said Rajapaksa, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
There was no reaction from the LTTE, which has been fighting to carve out a separate state in the island's northeast over the past quarter century.
Indo Asian News Service
Sri Lankan president says rebels must surrender
By SCOTT McDONALD, Associated Press Writer Scott Mcdonald, Associated Press Writer – Mon Apr 6, 3:30 am ET
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka's president appealed to the cornered Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down their arms and surrender to save their lives and ensure the safety of tens of thousands of civilians trapped with them in a "no-fire" zone.
The appeal from President Mahinda Rajapaksa came as the military increased the rebel death toll Monday to at least 453 dead from three days of battles that pushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam into the narrow "no-fire" zone.
A total of 2,127 civilians, including 919 children, fled to government-controlled areas late Sunday after the military captured the last Tiger stronghold outside the "no-fire" zone, a military statement said.
"The only way out for the rebels is to save their lives, and if they lay down arms and surrender, it will save the lives of the trapped civilians too," Rajapaksa was quoted Monday as saying by the government's Web site.
Rajapaksa "resolutely denied any intentions for a truce and insisted that the Tigers must lay down arms and allow civilians a safe passage into liberated areas," the military statement said.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said Monday that 453 rebel bodies from three days of fighting have been recovered, up from 420 a day earlier.
The "no-fire" zone where the rebels are likely to make their last stand in a civil war that has spanned 25 years was declared earlier this year by the government as a place for civilians caught in the fighting to go.
But now that the zone is all that remains of rebel territory, the focus turns to what will happen to civilians who fled there in hopes of reaching safety but find themselves caught again.
The "no-fire" zone measures just 7.7 square miles (20 square kilometers) of jungle and beach on the island's northeast.
The U.N. estimates 150,000 to 190,000 people are trapped there, with dozens dying each day. The government says 30,000 to 40,000 still remain, and more than 23,000 civilians escaped last month.
Nanayakkara would not say what the military planned. "It's going to be a different kind of operation, or it will be a rescue operation," he said.
The military has accused the rebels of building fortifications inside the "no-fire" zone in preparation for a final showdown.
Accounts from the front line cannot be verified because independent journalists are barred from the war zone. But the United Nations and aid organizations earlier accused the rebels of firing artillery shells from the "no-fire" zone and holding civilians there as human shields. The rebels have denied the allegations.
The rebels, in turn, have accused the military of shelling the zone, an accusation the government denies.
The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have faced decades of marginalization by successive governments controlled by ethnic Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.
Ladies & ..er...ladies,
Fresh information available from the frontlines. Just going through formal procedures (credibility and verification) prior to publication.
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