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| Sri Lanka army 'controls coast' | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The army in Sri Lanka has said it has captured the last section of coastline held by Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east of the country. | The army in Sri Lanka has said it has captured the last section of coastline held by Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east of the country. |
| The rebels are cornered by troops in a small enclave in a final confrontation that has trapped many civilians. | |
| The rebel have no more sea access and the army was "progressing" so that the rest of the rebel-held area would be cleared, Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said. | |
| More than 70,000 people have died since 1983 when the rebels began their fight. | |
| Fighting on the shoreline itself was not very heavy compared with elsewhere, the brigadier told the BBC. | |
| Charles Haviland in Colombo says there is speculation that the rebels would launch suicide attacks against the army. | |
| The Sri Lankan military said 10,000 civilians escaped the war zone on Friday, but our correspondent says there is huge concern for the fate of the many thousands of trapped civilians. |