Tamil Tiger rebels offer to lay down arms

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The Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka have admitted defeat in their 25-year-old war with the government, offering to lay down their guns.

But the government says fighting continues in small pockets, and it will maintain its military offensive until the rebels are completely defeated.

Meanwhile, the fate of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran remains unclear.

Such explosions have been common throughout the decades-old conflict.

But the rebels finally conceded defeat, as government forces swept across their last strongholds in the northeast.

A pro-rebel website quoted the head of the rebels as saying the Tigers were ready to "silence their guns" in an effort to save more lives of civilians in the fighting. A rebel official appealed to the government to reciprocate and enter peace talks.

Selvarafa Pathmanathan, Spokesman, LTTE Int's Relations, said, "Our organization is ready to lay down its arms and participate in the peace process. Not surrender. We are lay down the arms, not surrender."

The Military says by Sunday, troops had taken control of the "safety zone", and also rescued all civilians trapped in the area. They have surrounded the remaining rebels in a 1-square-kilometer patch of land.

Government troops found the bodies of several rebel fighters who had committed suicide after troops surrounded them.

The fate of the Tamil Tigers' top commanders remains unclear, including the whereabouts of the reclusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Reuters says one of the bodies was suspected to be that of Prabhakaran, but the military is still trying to confirm their identities. But the LTTE spokesman says Prabhakaran is still in the area and alive.