Sri Lankan President says Tamil rebels defeated

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Saturday declared that the Tamil rebels have been defeated militarily.

‘I am proud to announce that my government with the total commitment of our armed forces has, in an unprecedented humanitarian operation, finally defeated the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) militarily,’ Rajapaksa said.

He made the claim while in Jordan, on an official visit, with the remarks reported in Colombo.

Rajapaksa was due to return Sunday to the Sri Lankan capital. ‘I will be returning to a country which has been totally liberated from the barbaric deeds of the LTTE,’ he said.

The 25-year-old conflict, in which the LTTE has been fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils, has killed more than 70,000 people.