The Sri Lankan army has captured Elephant Pass, a strategic causeway linking the Jaffna peninsula with the mainland. President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Tamil Tiger rebels had been completely dislodged. The Tigers have made no comment yet, reports BBC online Friday.
Troops took Kilinochchi, the HQ of the rebels, last week and began a pincer movement on Elephant Pass.
The government is now in control of the A9 highway and can supply troops and the residents of Jaffna by land. The rebels had held a 100 km stretch since 2000, forcing the government to use expensive sea and air routes.
The Tigers, who are fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east, had established a de facto state squeezed between government-controlled Jaffna in the north and the rest of the country.
But the latest military offensive has forced the rebels to give up much of their territory. At least 70.000 people have been killed in the 25-year rebel insurgency.
The focus now falls on the sole remaining major Tiger base, at Mullaitivu in the east. The ministry of defence says the army is making steady ground along the A35 road from Paranthan to Mullaitivu.
