Colombo: Sri Lankan forces on Friday foiled another desperate attempt by Tamil Tigers to break out, sinking their three boats in a pre-dawn strike killing 23 Sea Tigers and in a further embarrassment for the rebels 58 child soldiers, including a senior female LTTE leader, surrendered.
The Lankan warships who have blockaded the small coastline off Mullaittivu, still held by the Tigers noticed an attempt by three LTTE boats to take to sea and sank them after challenging them, a Naval spokesman said.
This is second time in less than four days that Sri Lankan navy has thwarted attempts by Tamil Tigers to put their boats to sea. The encounter comes as reports say that the entire LTTE leadership including its Supremo V Prabhakaran are holed up in a small stretch of land.
The Tamil Tigers also on Friday took their war into the cyberspace by hacking into the official website of the Sri Lankan army.
The hackers believe to be Tiger computer experts replaced the contents with photographs of civilians killed in military action in the north east.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa rejected the calls for a cease-fire. "We fearlessly stood up to a brand of terrorism that the entire world believed was invincible," he said in a May Day address.
Government forces, meanwhile, have tightened their siege of the last strip of land on the island still controlled by Tamil Tigers and are poised for a final assault, the military said.
"The Tigers have no land escape routes left," a military official said. In the battle-front, three Divisions of the Sri Lankan force estimated to number around 22-30,000 have surrounded the Tigers, whose fighting cadres are reported to be around 900-1,200.
"We have troops in place to move in at anytime," the official said.
Thirty-eight boys and 20 girls aged between 14 and 17 years surrendered to the authorities in Kilinochchi on Thursday, the army said.
The child soldiers were produced before the Vavuniya district court which ordered they be immediately sent to the rehabilitation center in Amberpussa in the region.
Meanwhile, a senior female LTTE cadre 'Sudharmali' surrendered to the Samanthurai police station in Eastern Ampara. She gave herself up through the Red Cross on Thursday.
"Thiyagaraja Kamaleshwari alias "Sudharmali" is known to be one of the most senior member of the LTTE for three years," the defence ministry said, adding she was a resident of a nearby area.
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