35,000 civilians escape, LTTE complete defeat imminent - President
More than 35,000 civilians today fled the last area under the control of Sri Lanka’s cornered LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapakse said, adding that the rebels' "complete defeat" was imminent.
Showing aerial video from a military spy plane over the tiny area where the Tigers are staging a last stand, Rajapakse said 35,000 non-combatants had crossed the lines into government-held territory since early Monday morning.
"The footage clearly shows that the people are defying the rebels and escaping. They are running to safety," the president said.
The government has accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of using trapped civilians as a human shield, and the president suggested that their escape removed a final obstacle to an all-out military assault.
"The process of the complete defeat of the LTTE has just begun," he told AFP. "It is now all over for the Tigers."
More than 35,000 civilians today fled the last area under the control of Sri Lanka’s cornered LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapakse said, adding that the rebels' "complete defeat" was imminent.
Showing aerial video from a military spy plane over the tiny area where the Tigers are staging a last stand, Rajapakse said 35,000 non-combatants had crossed the lines into government-held territory since early Monday morning.
"The footage clearly shows that the people are defying the rebels and escaping. They are running to safety," the president said.
The government has accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of using trapped civilians as a human shield, and the president suggested that their escape removed a final obstacle to an all-out military assault.
"The process of the complete defeat of the LTTE has just begun," he told AFP. "It is now all over for the Tigers."
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