The Ceylon News

The military say that the rebels are now on the back foot

There has been further heavy fighting in the north-east of Sri Lanka, the military and sources close to Tamil Tiger rebels say.

The army says that in the latest clashes it has killed a senior rebel leader, Sabaratnam Selvathurai.

The pro-rebel TamilNet website says more than 50 soldiers were killed in the clashes and army artillery seized.

There is no way of confirming either side's claims. Independent journalists are not allowed in the war zone.

Correspondents say that Sabaratnam Selvathurai is one of the oldest confidantes of the rebel leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. His death, if confirmed, would be a major blow to their morale.

The military says that Mr Selvathurai - also known as Thamilenthi - was killed in fighting at the weekend around the rebel-held town of Puthukkudiyiruppu.

Sri Lanka's army website said he had been "confirmed killed in the weekend fighting in the north-east of Puthukkudiyirippu where over 150 dead bodies of Tiger terrorists were found after the clashes".

He would be the second senior leader to be killed in government attacks. In 2007, the head of the rebels' political wing, SP Tamilselvan, was killed in an air strike.

Rebel officials have not commented on reports of Mr Selvathurai's death. He was reportedly in charge of their financial unit.

'Under pressure'

Government troops are battling to secure the last rebel stronghold in the north after more than 25 years of civil war.

A senior health official in the war zone has said that more than 60 civilians have been killed inside a government-designated safe area over the last three days. He said that a further 300 were injured.

The rebels have been on the backfoot recently

The official, Dr T Varatharajah said most of the casualties were caused by shelling.

The Sri Lankan military has denied responsibility for the deaths and injuries - a spokesman said the official had been under pressure from the Tamil Tiger rebels to exaggerate civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has accused the Tigers of siphoning off food destined for severely malnourished children. It said a high-energy supplement found on a dead rebel had come from an aid consignment sent two years ago.

The latest fighting follows a suicide bombing in the south of the country on Tuesday which killed at least 14 people and which was blamed on the rebels.

The telecoms minister was among about 35 people injured in the blast at the town of Akuressa, 160km (100 miles) south of the capital, Colombo.

Government officials were attending a function at a mosque to celebrate an Islamic holiday at the time.

The Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority since 1983. They say Tamils have suffered decades of discrimination at the hands of the country's Sinhalese majority.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the war.

By C. Bryson Hull

March 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops are fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatists in a war zone now measuring just 37 square km (15 square miles) and are confident of winning a conflict that is Asia's longest-running.

Here are some questions and answers about what happens now:

IS THE END OF THE WAR NEAR?

As far as a conventional war goes, definitely. The military has the Tigers surrounded with their backs to the Indian Ocean. The army has nearly five full divisions at the front, and nearly four holding at the rear. In terms of numerical superiority and armaments, it's hands-down on the government side. There are at least 50,000 soldiers against what the military says are around 1,000 hardcore, well-trained Tiger fighters. There are also other irregular fighters, either forcibly pressed into service or loyal to the LTTE.

HOW FAST WILL IT FINISH?

That is difficult to say. The army commander in overall charge of the war zone, Major-General Jagath Jayasuriya, told Reuters recently that taking the last territory was a one-day job if civilians weren't there. But that's the rub: there are tens of thousands of civilians there. Nearly all are inside a 12-km coastal strip no more tha a half-kilometre wide, which the army declared a no-fire zone. The government says no more than 70,000 are there while the Red Cross says there are 150,000. The numbers are actually immaterial -- the fact is people are there and are the LTTE's final trump card.

(For more about civilians, click on [ID:nCOL391133])

ARE THE TIGERS STILL IN THE FIGHT?

Yes. The Tigers appear to have saved their best-trained fighters for the last battles, and have attempted several counterattacks and infiltrations into army-held areas. The military said it killed 195 of them this weekend during a wave of last-ditch assaults. [ID:nSP484979] But the military is confident of wiping them out completely, and has not failed to achieve any of its objectives since launching its offensive against the LTTE in August 2006. The only one left? Victory.

WHAT ABOUT THE LTTE'S LEADERS?

The commander of the army's 58th Division, Brigadier Shavendra Silva, recently told Reuters all the known second-tier LTTE leaders "are in the no-fire zone. It's not a rough idea, it is a clear idea." The LTTE commanders have been repeatedly monitored on the radio. The military now says it suspects leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran is there too, but says he has remained off the radio and his precise location is unknown.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE GROUND WAR?

The military says it expects some LTTE fighters to hide among civilians for a time, then begin carrying out hit-and-run attacks. They will collect weapons from caches believed hidden all over northern Sri Lanka. Soldiers are busy looking for those, and the army's commander has said his troops are ready for any counterattacks. The Tigers are also likely to keep carrying out suicide attacks all over the island, like one that killed 14 people and wounded 35 on Tuesday outside a mosque. That will be a much more difficult tactic to counter, security analysts say. [ID:nSP477627] (Editing by Jerry Norton)