The Sri Lankan Army is claiming victory after victory in it's war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But the war isn't over until it captures or eliminates the LTTE's top brass including LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran.
As the Sri Lankan Army advances, the LTTE is increasingly being pushed into the jungles and their final bastion in Mullathivu in under threat.
In their first official reaction after the fall of Kilinochchi LTTE claimed that they are down but not out .
In an interview to a pro-LTTE website, Tamilnet the LTTE's political head B Nadesan said, "Kilinochchi town was captured more than once by the Sri Lanka military earlier. Similarly, we have also re-captured the town on earlier occasions. It is in Kilinochchi, where the Sri Lankan forces have suffered historic debacles."
Completely isolated from the international community which has declared them a terrorist outfit, LTTE still claim to be the only representatives of Sri Lankan Tamils and refuse to accept any move for a provincial elections without them by the Sri Lankan government.
So for the Sri Lankan Army the war is not over till they zero in on LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran.
Prabhakaran has eluded the Sri Lankan Army for decades. Even the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) which went to Sri Lanka in 1987 failed to capture Prabhakaran.
"We cornered him twice but he escaped. He was very agile and would change location every night. He is paranoid about his security and has the best of his cadres to protect him," said Colonel (retired) S Hariharan, who was with the IPKF.
Prabhakaran was once trained in India and lived in India till the mid 1980's. But since the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in which he's the prime accused he is a proclaimed offender under Indian law. India has consistently maintained that he should be extradited if found.
But the big question now is can the Sri Lankan Army close in on a man who's perhaps been one of the worlds most elusive targets.
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