Sri Lanka rebels surrender or explode to end war

Guardian:

Sri Lankan troops were today mopping up the remnants of the defeated Tamil Tigers, amid reports that some rebel fighters have been blowing themselves up rather than surrender. A large explosion in a bunker prompted speculation that Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' leader, and other senior commanders may have killed themselves.

The developments came a day after Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced the defeat of the Tamil rebels, and soldiers seized control of the entire coast for the first time in the 25-year war. The president is expected to formally announce the end of the war on national television on Tuesday.

The army claimed it intercepted radio communications that revealed a mass suicide plan and yesterday military sources said a body believed to be Prabhakaran's was recovered. Its identity was being confirmed. However, there was no confirmation of his death from either side.

Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the Tigers' chief of international relations, said the rebels had abandoned the fight and were laying down their arms. In a statement on the pro-Tamil website, TamilNet, he admitted that the three-decade long war was over. "This battle has reached its bitter end," he said.

The military claimed to have killed at least 70 rebels trying to flee by boat and to have boxed the remaining fighters into a 400-metre by 600-metre pocket of land.

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This is hopefully the end of this conflict. The Tiger cause is clearly hopeless at this point and that usually signals the end of most wars. The leaders that began the tactic of using human bombs have in some cases become their own human bomb to avoid the consequences of their defeat.