12 April 2012
The Tamil Tigers have admitted defeat in their fierce quarter-century war for a separate homeland as Sri Lankan government forces raced to clear the last pockets of rebel resistance.
Thousands of Sri Lankans danced in the streets of Colombo, celebrating the stunning collapse of one of the world's most sophisticated insurgencies.
But with rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran still at large, the threat of renewed guerrilla warfare remains.
Several rebel fighters committed suicide when they were surrounded, but it was unclear whether Prabhakaran or other leaders were among them.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the civilians who had been trapped in the war zone - 63,000 in all - have fled to safety during the past 72 hours.
