Sri Lankan army in final push to eliminate rebels

SRI LANKAN troops advanced on the Tamil Tigers yesterday and 5,000 civilians fled the shrinking war zone, signalling an end to Asia’s longest modern war.

With an apparent end to Sri Lanka’s 25-year separatist conflict in sight, the UN rights chief backed calls for an independent inquiry into possible war crimes and human rights violations by both sides.

The stakes could not be higher for either side. The Tigers face certain destruction by overwhelming firepower and force, and Sri Lanka wants to ensure the rebels do not escape from the jaws of defeat, as they have earlier in the war.