Sri Lanka says Tamil Tiger leader is dead
鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
The Sri Lankan military announced Monday that Velupillai Prabhakaran, the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is dead.
A state television broadcast quoting military sources stated that Mr. Prabhakaran had been shot and killed along with two of his deputies in the Mullivaikal district while fleeing the war zone in an ambulance. The announcement followed the news that the military had surrounded Prabhakaran in a 100-meter square patch of jungle in the northeast of the country.
According to the Sri Lankan media, Prabhakaran鈥檚 son and several other leaders of the Tamil Tiger movement have also been killed. The claims have not been independently verified as reporters are barred from entering the war zone and the LTTE has yet to confirm the death of its leader. Meanwhile, there are conflicting accounts of how Prabhakaran was killed.
His death comes a day after the LTTE admitted defeat and declared on its website that it would lay down arms in the 26-year-long war against Sri Lanka鈥檚 military.
According to the BBC, the military has , although his body has yet to be identified from among the many Tamil Tigers who were killed on Sunday night.
Charles Anthony, Prabhakaran鈥檚 son and the heir of the LTTE leadership, , reports the Daily News, Sri Lanka鈥檚 national newspaper.
The Daily News also reports that Balasingham Nadesan, a former police constable and the head of the rebels鈥� political wing, Seevaratnam Pulidevan, the head of the Tigers鈥� defunct peace secretariat, and S. Ramesh, a 鈥渟enior special military leader,鈥� are said to be among the dead.
According to The Times of London, it is the Sri Lankan military鈥檚 claims about Prabhakaran鈥檚 death.
Conflicting accounts of are also circulating, reports Al Jazeera on its English-language website.
According to The Guardian, Prabhakaran had 鈥渢o kill him and burn his body beyond recognition rather than allow his capture.鈥� An explosion in a bunker on Sunday 鈥減rompted speculation that Prabhakaran and other senior commanders may have killed themselves鈥� since Tamil Tigers are trained to commit suicide rather than be captured.
Before Prabhakaran鈥檚 death was reported, the Colombo High Court had , reported The Lanka Sun, an independent online newspaper.
According to Bloomberg, Prabhakaran is accused of of more than a hundred politicians and military officers.
Even though the LTTE鈥檚 leadership has reportedly been wiped out, analysts believe that the movement , reported the Belfast Telegraph, before news of Prabhakaran鈥檚 death was reported.
鈥� Editor's note: A previous version of this story did not identify which material was quoted from other news sources.
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(The Times of London)
(Reuters)
