Prabhakaran will have no place to hide - Army Commander

Within 15 days, the troops advanced 15 km and they have less than 25 km to complete our mission. If we move another 10 km to the East, Prabhakaran will not have any place to hide in Mullaitivu, said Army Commander Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer.

"The troops have already captured Dharmapuram and a major portion of Visuwamadu. The only place left for Prabhakaran is Puthirukuruppu West, which is just three kms South of Mullaithivu. Very soon the military would capture their last stronghold", he added.

He said that the troops were after him. The 55-year-old Prabhakaran lost his domination over 95 percent of the North now and is wanted by the Indian government for the assassination of its former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The Sri Lankan judiciary has also sentenced him for a 200 year imprisonment for bombing the Central Bank in 1996. He was accused of killing the former Sri Lankan President R. Premadasa and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and many other politicians, intellectuals and hundreds of civilians. According to the informed sources, the LTTE Leader is hiding in an under ground bunker which was built 35 feet deep. The Army Chief said still there was no confirmation to say that Prabhakaran has fled the country and is believed to be still in Mullaittivu. " He will come out of his bunker when the troops go closer. He will find it very difficult to stay there", he added.

The LTTE Leader and his commanders could surrender to the army to save their lives, the Army Commander said.

Lt. Gen. Fonseka said that the government would take legal actions against Soosai, LTTE's Sea Tiger leader, Pottu Amman, the intelligence chief, and other LTTE leaders like Banu, Lakshman, Sornam, Theepan, Nadesan and Ramesh.

The Army Chief also said that the number of civilians that trapped in Mullaitivu is less than 100, 000 officials may have given false figures to the government to inflate various claims. It is high time human rights organisations demand that the LTTE free them, he added.