Sri Lanka: Tamil Tiger leader dead, war over
Velupillai Prabhakaran has been killed, the Sri Lankan army says
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Monday, 18, May 2009 05:29
Tamil Tiger supreme commander Velupillai Prabhakaran has been shot dead and its entire rebel leadership "wiped out", Sri Lankan state television is reporting.
Prabhakaran, 54, is understood to have been shot attempting to flee soldiers in an ambulance in the death throes of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
According to the Sri Lankan government a 26-year armed conflict is over after the defeat of the last pockets of resistance by the Tigers' remaining gunmen.
A statement on the Sri Lankan army's website said "all Sri Lankans, irrespective of their differences, have joined hands together to mark the total eviction of Tiger terrorism from Sri Lankan soil".
The entire country was brought under government control at 14:00 local time (09:30 BST).
A number of LTTE fighters announced on Sunday they would be laying down their arms, effectively accepting defeat.
The United Nations and humanitarian groups have continued to be critical of the recent offensive, claiming thousands of civilians are caught up in the fighting, with hundreds losing their lives.
As the government combat mission was ending, more than 1,000 people protested outside the British high commission in Colombo where demonstrators accused Britain of siding with the rebels.