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Sri Lanka Declares Victory Over Tigers

By the Associated Press

Posted May 16, 2009 11:36 AM CDT

(AP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said today that his country had defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels on the battlefield and emerged victorious from its quarter-century civil war. "My government, with the total commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian operation finally defeated the LTTE militarily," he said, referring to the rebels by their formal name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

"I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE," he said in a speech. The military reported that fighting continued to rage in the war zone along the northeast coast. Today, troops seized control of the island's entire coastline for the first time in decades, sealing the Tamil Tigers in a tiny pocket of territory and cutting off the possibility of a sea escape by the rebels' top leaders. More than 23,000 civilians have fled since Thursday.

Sri Lankan army soldiers receive internally displaced ethnic Tamil civilians. (AP Photo)

A Sri Lankan army soldier stands guard as others march during a military funeral in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, May 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today in Jordan. (AP Photo)

Sri Lankan army soldiers patrolling the front in Vellamullivaikal. (AP Photo)

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • rebels • Mahinda Rajapaksa • victory • Sri Lankan Army • LTTE

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Sri Lanka Military Cuts Off Rebel Sea Escape

Tigers lose access to sea as military vows to end 25-year war by nightfall

After 26-Year War, Sri Lanka Struggles with Peace

Ethnic tensions remain as Tamil rebels lay down arms

EU Sold Millions in Weapons to Sri Lankan Army

European arms may have been used in civil war atrocities

Sri Lankan Shelling Killed 20,000 Civilians

Photos, UN documents reveal hidden massacre at civil war's end

Tamil Boss Shot Dead Trying to Flee

After 26 years, Tamil Tigers resoundingly defeated

About Us

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Newser By Users

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More News

What is Newser?