Sri Lanka says it captured last rebel stronghold

By KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press Writer Krishan Francis, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 24 mins ago

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan forces captured the Tamil Tigers' last major stronghold in the country's north, the army announced Sunday, a victory that left the remaining rebel fighters confined to the tiny slice of jungle they still control.

The capture of Mullaittivu came just three weeks after the army drove the rebels from their administrative capital of Kilinochchi and forced them to retreat from most of the de facto state they controlled across a wide swath of northern Sri Lanka.

While the major conventional battles appeared to be over, analysts said the army had a hard fight ahead of it to finish off the rebels, who are reportedly holed up in the nearby jungles with hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.

"The Sri Lankan army captured the Mullaittivu bastion completely today," Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the army chief, said in a speech broadcast on every major television channel.

Sri Lankans across Colombo exploded in celebration, honking their horns and lighting firecrackers.

Fonseka said the 25-year-old civil war was 95 percent over and he appealed for new recruits to join the army and help finish off the rebels.

Rebel officials could not be reached for comment because communications to the northern war zone have been cut. It is impossible to verify the military's accounts because independent journalists are barred from the area.

Defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella described Mullaittivu as the rebels' last bastion and main operations center.

The rebels took control of the town in 1996 when they overran a military camp there and killed nearly 1,000 soldiers.

The Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has vowed to destroy the group and end the war.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090125/ap_on_re_as/as_sri_lanka_civil_war