LTTE is waging its last battle: Sri Lanka

Claiming that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was fighting its 'last battle', Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has said the armed forces were treading a victorious path and there was no going back on the 'march against terrorists.'

"The LTTE is, perhaps, fighting its last battle and the security forces are continuing their fight to emancipate the country and the people of the north and east from terrorism," Rajapakse said after giving away gallantry awards to the armed forces personnel in Colombo on Thursday.

Simultaneously, the government is engaged in finding a durable solution to the ethnic problem through democratic means, he said.

Delivering the keynote address, Rajapakse said security forces had proved that terrorism was not undefeatable.

"There was a time when the people were made to believe that the security forces could not win the war against the terrorists. But our forces have proved otherwise. The security forces have won on every front. The march against terrorism cannot be turned back. Today, the Army, Navy and Air Force are undefeatable," the President said.

He said LTTE cadres had "murdered not only political leaders, academics, mothers and sisters, but also world leaders like Rajiv Gandhi."

"The entire country, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers, are appealing to the government to crush terrorism and bring lasting peace to the country," he added.

Meanwhile, the government said it could not confirm whether LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was present when jets bombed a rebel base frequented by him east of Iranamadu tank in Kalmadulam, Kilinochchi on Wednesday, the Island Newspaper reported on Friday.

"We have not been able to verify this," the newspaper quoted a spokesperson as saying.

But the daily quoted well-informed sources as saying that the LTTE chief was not present during the attack that killed at least 15 LTTE cadres. Fighting has intensified since the government pulled out of the 2002 ceasefire with the LTTE.