COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The Sri Lankan military has been claiming major victories against the Tamil Tigers in recent weeks but a rebel leader told the BBC the fighting will continue.
With the Sri Lankan security forces asserting they are closing in on the Tigers' headquarters town of Kilinochchi in the north, Balasingham Nadesan, the rebels' political wing head, sent an e-mail to the BBC saying the rebels will not stop fighting even if their town were to be captured.
"Freedom ... never depends on one city. We can create more communities, more cities and (in) our freedom struggle, we are supported by people," Nadesan said. "We have the confidence that we will capture more areas in our motherland and we will create so many communities in (the) future."
The two sides have been waging fierce battles in recent weeks, with each side claiming it has inflicted severe casualties on the other. The claims cannot be independently verified as journalists are not allowed in the battle areas.
Rejecting the government's offer of talks if the rebels laid down their arms, Nadesan said, "This is not a realistic question, we took up arms to safeguard our people, so we will keep these arms until the safeguard is guaranteed."
Military spokesman Brig. Uday Ananaykara said the Sri Lankan people want the Tiger rebels eliminated.
The rebels have been fighting for years for a separate homeland for the Tamil-speaking minority on the Indian Ocean island nation, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
