The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Colombo

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ruled out negotiations with the Tamil Tigers, saying the military would soon destroy the rebel group and end the country's long-running civil war.

Speaking to foreign journalists late Monday, Rajapaksa said the time for talks was over, the only option left for the rebels was to put down their arms and surrender. "We can crush them, there is no question that we can't," he said. After months of fighting to a near stalemate along the front lines of the civil war in the north, the military broke through in recent weeks, capturing large swaths of enemy territory and vastly reducing the size of the rebels' de facto state. Rajapaksa said he was confident of imminent victory in the 25-year-old war with the rebels. "I know they are getting weak," he said. Many analysts, while acknowledging the government's recent military victories, have expressed concerns that the separatist guerrillas might retreat into the island nation's northern jungles and continue their guerrilla war, while launching sporadic bombing attacks on civilians in government-held areas.