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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Sri Lanka army 'controls coast' | Sri Lanka army 'controls coast' |
| (about 1 hour 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 tiny enclave in a final confrontation that has trapped many civilians. | The rebels are cornered by troops in a tiny enclave in a final confrontation that has trapped many civilians. |
| The rebels 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. | The rebels 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 in the 26-year war for a Tamil homeland. | |
| See a map of the conflict region | See a map of the conflict region |
| Fighting on the shoreline itself was not very heavy compared with elsewhere, the brigadier told the BBC. | Fighting on the shoreline itself was not very heavy compared with elsewhere, the brigadier told the BBC. |
| The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says there is speculation that the rebels would launch suicide attacks against the army. | |
| Trapped civilians | Trapped civilians |
| 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 still trapped. | |
| The UN Security Council has expressed "grave concern" at the "worsening humanitarian crisis" in the region. | The UN Security Council has expressed "grave concern" at the "worsening humanitarian crisis" in the region. |
| Over the last week, US President Barack Obama has urged the army to stop shelling of civilian areas and called on the rebels to lay down their arms. | Over the last week, US President Barack Obama has urged the army to stop shelling of civilian areas and called on the rebels to lay down their arms. |
| But the government in Colombo has consistently rejected calling a halt to the offensive saying it would give the rebels time to recover. | But the government in Colombo has consistently rejected calling a halt to the offensive saying it would give the rebels time to recover. |
| Many thousands of civilians remain unable to escape the war zone | |
| Meanwhile the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, is due to arrive in Colombo later for a second attempt to press for a negotiated end to the war. | |
| More than 200,000 civilians who escaped the war zone over the last few months are living in government-controlled camps. | |
| Aid charities say a growing number of traumatised, malnourished children were becoming separated from their families as they fled the war zone and entered the camps. | |
| The founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organisation, Vellupillai Prabhakaran began the fight for a separate state for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils in the early 1970s, progressing into a violent civil war in 1983. | |
| The Sri Lanka military intelligence believe Prabhakaran and other senior leaders are in the remaining rebel-held territory, Reuters news agency reported Brig Nanayakkara said. | |
| But analysts say Tamil complaints of discrimination by Sinhalese majority which date back to 1948 when Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain will not be resolved by arms alone. | |
| Click here to return | Click here to return |