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Tamil Tigers Confirm Death of Leader

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted May 24, 2009 3:19 PM CDT

(Newser) – The defeated Tamil Tigers have admitted that leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead, the BBC reports. The rebels declared a week of mourning after their “incomparable leader” was killed while "fighting the military oppression of the Sri Lankan government," a statement said. The Tigers have also renounced violence, said a spokesman, after Sri Lanka's military wiped out their army and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

A young Malaysian Indian protester of Tamil ethnicity holds a stuffed tiger during a demonstration in support of the Tamil Tigers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, May 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)

A sick child lies on a bed at a hospital in Manik Farm displaced persons' camp in Vavuniya in Sri Lanka, Saturday, May 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

In this image taken from an undated handout video footage released by Sri Lanka Army, soldiers display the body of man they claim is the slain rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. (AP Photo/Sri Lanka Army via APTN, HO)

In this handout photo taken Tuesday, May 19, 2009, and released by the Sri Lankan Army, the army claims to show the body of Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. (AP Photo/Sri Lankan Army, HO)

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We have already announced that we have given up violence and agreed to enter a democratic process to achieve the rights for the Tamil [self] determination of our people. - Selvarasa Pathmanathan, Tamil Tigers' head of international relations

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