Sri Lanka celebrates as rebel leader dies

SRI LANKA declared it had crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels, killing their chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.

State television broke into its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran’s death, and the government information department sent a text message to phones across the country confirming he was killed along with top deputies, Soosai and Pottu Amman.

The announcement sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing. Prabhakaran’s death has been seen as crucial to bringing closure to the war-wracked Indian Ocean island nation. If he had escaped, he could have used his large international smuggling network and the support of Tamil expatriates to spark a new round of guerrilla warfare. His death in battle could still turn him into a martyr for other Tamil separatists.