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| Sri Lanka army 'defeats rebels' | Sri Lanka army 'defeats rebels' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Sri Lankan president has declared a military victory over the Tamil Tigers after 26 years of bloody civil war. | The Sri Lankan president has declared a military victory over the Tamil Tigers after 26 years of bloody civil war. |
| Speaking on a visit to Jordan, Mahinda Rajapakse said he would return home to a nation totally free from the "barbaric acts" of the rebel group. | Speaking on a visit to Jordan, Mahinda Rajapakse said he would return home to a nation totally free from the "barbaric acts" of the rebel group. |
| There was no word from the president on the fate of the last few rebel fighters and leaders, thought to be cornered in a tiny area of the north-east. | There was no word from the president on the fate of the last few rebel fighters and leaders, thought to be cornered in a tiny area of the north-east. |
| More than 70,000 people have died in the bitter war for a Tamil homeland. | More than 70,000 people have died in the bitter war for a Tamil homeland. |
| The last weeks of the war have been marked by a growing chorus of international concern over the fate of Tamil civilians caught up in the intense fighting. | |
| Sri Lanka says more than 18,000 civilians have left the conflict zone in the past 48 hours. | |
| However, more remain inside the tiny square mile of land still where the Tamil Tigers may be preparing for a fight to the death. | |
| The UN and Western governments have called on Sri Lanka to exercise restraint in its pursuit of a military victory over the Tigers. | |
| British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has become the latest leader to speak out on the issue, declaring on Saturday that there would be "consequences" if Sri Lanka did not work to ensure an orderly end to the conflict. | |
| 'Humanitarian operation' | |
| Speaking in Jordan, Mr Rajapakse said: "I am proud to announce... that my government, with the total commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian operation, finally defeated the LTTE militarily," the AFP news agency reported. | |
| The BBC's Charles Haviland, in the capital, Colombo, says a senior government spokesman in Jordan with the president could not confirm that fighting had ended in the north-east. | |
| There are now concerns that the Tamil Tiger leadership is preparing for a last stand, our correspondent says. | There are now concerns that the Tamil Tiger leadership is preparing for a last stand, our correspondent says. |
| The Tigers' leadership has said repeatedly that they will not surrender, and are thought to be keeping thousands of civilians as human shields. | The Tigers' leadership has said repeatedly that they will not surrender, and are thought to be keeping thousands of civilians as human shields. |
| There have also been reports that the Tigers are preparing a mass suicide in the face of a military defeat. | There have also been reports that the Tigers are preparing a mass suicide in the face of a military defeat. |