Final end to Sri Lanka conflict looms
Updated
Twenty-five years of war in Sri lanka have now come down to a battle in less than a square kilometre of land.
That's all the territory left to the Tamil Tigers, whose forces have harried the Sri Lankan military by land and sea for years.
Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has been reported killed, but the fighting has not completely stopped
Presenter: Mark Colvin
Speaker: ABC correspondent in Sri Lanka, Sally Sara
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SARA: It's been quick, although it's important to remember that two months ago, the Sri Lankan Government were saying it was all going to be all over within a matter of days, so in some ways it's taken longer than they expected. But the territory that the Tamil Tigers were holding has been shrinking day-by-day, and once the two sides of the Sri Lankan army from the north and south met and claimed the last bit of coastline and then pushed the conflict into the jungle, really it was getting down to a matter of hours, rather than days.
COLVIN: Now, in the smaller area which is still being fought over, are there still civilians in there Sally, do we know?
SARA: Well, the Sri Lankan military and the Sri Lankan Government are saying that all the civilians have been taken out of that area. The Tamil Tigers and aid groups have not been convinced at all of the civilians have been out, so there have been quite different points of view and different ways the stories have been painted, The government's point of view is that they have regarded it as a hostage rescue situation and they say that all the civilians have been taken out. Aid groups are very concerned and have been worrying about the accuracy of the government's numbers and the Tamil Tigers have been saying, even as recently as last night, they were saying that up to 3,000 more civilians had been killed, and obviously the independent media are unable to get in and get free access. So in that area, it is very difficult to clarify exactly what's going on.
COLVIN: And do you know what the nature of the assault is? Are they bombarding it with artillery or is it largely with ground forces and guerilla fighting?
SARA: At the military briefing the brigadiers were saying the positions that have been occupied in this last stand by the Tamil Tigers are mainly bunkers and bunkers in a small area of jungle. The Sri Lankan military has been sending in its special forces, but the area is extremely dangerous, that there are a number of mines and booby traps, and you can imagine that kind of jungle fighting environment. Every square metre is very hard fought for. It's extremely dangerous. So they have been talking about what their ground forces have been doing. They have not confirmed to us whether air power is being going in, because it's such a confined area.
COLVIN: What do we know about the Tamil Tigers leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran?
SARA: Whether he has survived the conflict or whether a body is produced is very, very important. There has not been a clear punctuation point in the end of this conflict. The President of Sri Lanka announced that there had been a military defeat, even though fighting was continuing. On Saturday, the Tamil Tigers were talking about admitting that they had been defeated, that the conflict had reached its bitter end yesterday and yet fighting was continuing. So really the fate of Prabhakaran and for a lot of people in Sri Lanka will be the most important judgement point as to whether this conflict has really ended this time or not.
