Sri Lankan troops close in on Tamil Tiger headquarters

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankan government forces have advanced to the outskirts of the northern Tamil Tiger rebel capital of Kilinochchi, the army chief announced Thursday.

The government, which pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in January, wants to capture the town and deal what would be a major military and psychological blow to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"Our forces are around four kilometres (2.5 miles) from Kilinochchi town. In fact we can see some of the buildings," Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said.

He also said the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was "now a caged animal."

"Our military campaign won't stop until we liberate our motherland from the LTTE," Fonseka added.

Kilinochchi, the political capital of the LTTE's northern mini-state, is where the rebels have hosted visiting foreign dignitaries and peace brokers. They maintain their police headquarters, courts and own bank there.

Fonseka, who was speaking at a book launch in the capital Colombo, did not say when he expected the town to fall. But he suggested a fresh offensive would begin in the coming days.

"We will fire the first shots towards Kilinochchi town next week," he said.

There was no comment from the LTTE, and independent confirmation of the current front-line position is difficult to obtain because journalists are barred from the area. However, foreign aid workers who evacuated the north last week have confirmed that the fighting has drawn steadily closer to Kilinochchi.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's defence ministry reported that 36 rebels and one soldier were slain in the latest fighting across the north, where government troops are attacking the LTTE on several fronts.

According to ministry figures, the Tamil Tigers have lost some 6,898 fighters since January. Military authorities say 673 soldiers have also died during the same period.

Casualty figures also cannot be verified.

Aid organisations say the recent fighting has forced around 230,000 people from their homes in Kilinochchi and nearby Mullaittivu " a major LTTE military base.

Sri Lanka has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars into the war effort this year, and hawkish President Mahinda Rajapakse has ruled out any return to peace talks. "Our government would only be ready to talk to this illegal armed group when it is ready to commit itself to decommissioning of its illicit weapons and dismantling of its military capability, and return to the democratic fold," Rajapakse said Wednesday in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

The government argues that the rebels only used the peace process to bring in more weapons. The rebels, however, say the island's ethnic Sinhalese majority were never sincere about peace.

The rebels have been fighting for an independent homeland for the Tamil minority since 1972. Tens of thousands have died in the conflict.