The Sri Lankan government today formally declared an end to the 25-year civil war after the army took control of the entire island and killed the leader of the Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lankans react to news of the victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels. (Photo: AP)

    According to the Sri Lankan army the chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Velupillai Prabhakaran, was shot dead while trying to flee the war zone in an ambulance after the final battle in an offensive that has killed thousands of Tamil civilians since January.

    Gethin Chamberlain on the bloody end of Sri Lanka's 25-year war Link to this audio

    Special forces troops also killed the rebels' intelligence chief Pottu Amman, and Soosai, the head of the group's "Sea Tiger" naval wing, said the state broadcaster, Rupavahini TV, according to Reuters.

    European Union nations this morning called for an independent war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in Sri Lanka.

    The British foreign secretary, David Miliband, said there had been "very grave allegations" of war crimes on both sides of the conflict and "they should be properly investigated".

    In a statement, EU foreign ministers appealed to the Sri Lankan government to urgently let United Nations aid groups into the country to help provide much-needed food and medical care to civilians caught in the fighting and to seek reconciliation with the country's minority Tamil population. Yesterday, Gordon Weiss, a UN spokesman, expressed concern about the fate of up to 80,000 people in the combat zone.

    A military spokesman said 250 rebels had been killed in the final battle, after 72,000 civilians fled the small war zone over the weekend. According to UN figures, an estimated 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed between 20 January, when a military offensive pushed the rebels into a tiny enclave in the north-east, and 7 May.

    The army commander, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, told state TV: "We can announce very responsibly that we have liberated the whole country from terrorism."

    The Press Trust of India said the army was withholding an official announcement of Prabhakaran's death until the completion of DNA tests.

    Earlier, the military confirmed the deaths of four other leaders of the LTTE, including Prabhakaran's eldest son, Charles Anthony. State television broadcast images said to be of Anthony's body.

    Prabhakaran was shot dead after government troops moved into the last areas of territory held by the group, according to the Sri Lankan army.

    An unnamed military source told Reuters: "It was confirmed Prabhakaran was killed when trying to flee in an ambulance before dawn. We are waiting for the official announcement by the president."

    The news prompted celebrations in the capital, Colombo, but also protest at Britain's perceived support for the Tamils.

    More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside the British high commission, where protesters burned an effigy of Miliband.

    They threw rotten eggs and stones at the embassy compound, and the effigy was set on fire before being thrown over the high walls.

    The foreign secretary has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the conflict and for civilians to be allowed to leave the afflicted area.

    The developments come after Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced on Saturday the defeat of the Tamil rebels, and soldiers seized control of the entire coast for the first time in the war.

    Rebel official Selvarasa Pathmanathan said in a statement emailed to Associated Press: "This battle has reached its bitter end.

    "It is our people who are dying now from bombs, shells, illness and hunger. We cannot permit any more harm to befall them. We remain with one last choice to remove the last weak excuse of the enemy for killing our people. We have decided to silence our guns."

    During previous rounds of fighting, Prabhakaran had reportedly told his bodyguards to kill him and burn his body beyond recognition rather than allow his capture. Tamil Tiger fighters have been trained to commit suicide rather than be taken.

    A large explosion in a bunker yesterday prompted speculation that Prabhakaran and other senior commanders may have killed themselves.

    Troops were waging gun battles yesterday with the last remnants of the rebel group hiding in bunkers in a tiny area about the size of three football pitches placed side by side, Nanayakkara said.

    Earlier today, troops found the body of Anthony, who was reportedly also a leader of the rebel group. The defence ministry said special forces found the bodies of the rebels' political wing leader, Balasingham Nadesan, the head of the rebels' peace secretariat, Seevaratnam Puleedevan, and one of the top military leaders, known as Ramesh.

    In a statement it said the bodies of many more rebels were scattered about the area and were not yet identified.

    Thousands of civilians have been killed in the recent fighting.

    The Tamil Tigers have been blamed for hundreds of suicide attacks. The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate state for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority after years of marginalisation at the hands of the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

www.truthout.org/051809C