RFI - Army says it's set to take last few square kilometres

Army says it's set to take last few square kilometres

Article published on the 2009-05-16 Latest update 2009-05-16 14:20 TU

An ethnic Tamil Malaysian holds an effigy of Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse during a demonstration outside the Sri Lankan embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Friday
(Photo: Reuters)

A Defence Ministry spokesperson in the Sri Lankan government says the army is on the brink of capturing the last few square kilometres of territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Humanitarian agencies fear for the lives of the 50,000 or so estimated Tamil civilians caught in the battle zone.

The government offensive against the Tamil rebels in the north and east of the island has been going on for around two years, and has been stepped up in the past eight months.

Sri Lankan state television, which has reporters at the frontline in the northeast, said on Saturday that the fighting could end in hours. Other journalists are not authorised in the area.

President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is currently visiting Jordan, has said that he expects to capture the last remaining patch of land from the Tigers by Sunday morning. He is due to return to Colombo on Sunday.

The government says it has destroyed the Tamil Tigers' maritime capability and a military official said two troop divisions had grabbed the last piece of coastline held by the Tigers.

The Sri Lankan authorities, have been coming in for constant criticism over their handling of the Tamil civilian situation in the war zone. France and Britain joined forces to urge Colombo to live up to its commitments and avoid using heavy artillery in its push against the LTTE.

The French government has released a letter sent to President Rajapakse from Foreign Ministers Bernard Kouchner and David Miliband warning that there have been reports that the Sri Lankan security forces have been using aerial bombing.

The UN's human rights office said Friday that an independent probe into possible war crimes in Sri Lanka's combat zone was vital, saying that said some 50,000 civilians were still trapped by the fighting.