End game in the Sri Lankan civil war

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 16 (UPI) -- The long civil war in Sri Lanka appeared to be in its final hours Saturday with the Tamil Tigers cut off from the sea.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who once controlled an autonomous area in one-third of the island nation, were left with a few hundred fighters trying to fend off government soldiers, the Ministry of Defense said. The government said that about 10,000 civilians, referred to in its releases as "hostages," had been able to get past the Tigers and were rescued by the military.

The military said two major Tiger leaders were killed Saturday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, attending the G-11 economic summit in Jordan, told other leaders that the final victory had been achieved.

"Many in the world believed that the LTTE is invincible, but, I am proud to announce at this august gathering that my government with the total commitment of our armed forces, has, in an unprecedented humanitarian operation, finally defeated the LTTE militarily," he told the G-11. "I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE. This freedom comes after 30 long years."

The Defense Ministry announced a few hours earlier that two army units had linked up on a strip of beach on the north coast, the last holdout of the Tigers.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were founded in 1976 with the aim of creating an independent Tamil state.