New Delhi:
Small Headline: Is it all over for the LTTE?
City: New Delhi
ByLine: Nitin Gokhale
Is it all over for the LTTE? After intense fighting over the last two days, the Sri Lankan army has said it has taken over the last LTTE-held territory and killed at least six top leaders of the group.
But the battle is far from over because Prabhakaran -- the chief of the Tamil separatist militia group -- has not only escaped the government forces, but is believed to be hiding amongst thousands of civilians in a tiny, no-fire zone.
And until Prabhakaran is caught many won't take it to be the end of LTTE, even though militarily the terror group may have lost.
",Prabhakaran is now in the no-fire zone among the civilians. But he cannot escape from there,", Sri Lankan army spokesperson Brigadier U Nanayakkara said.
Therein lies the dilemma of the Sri Lankan government. The plight of the civilians caught in the crossfire has the international community worried, and consequently the Sri Lankan government on edge.
Colombo may have to change its military strategy if it is to chase Prabhakaran in the no-fire zone.
Yet, with the latest success on Sunday, the army is unlikely to slow down until Prabhakaran is captured or killed.
End of the battle may just be the beginning of another challenge for Sri Lanka, as the task of rehabilitating lakhs of Tamils and reconstructing war-ravaged northern areas still remains.