Govt troops enter last rebel-held town

Sri Lankan forces entered the last northern town under rebel control yesterday, the military said, as the government brushed aside international calls for a ceasefire to allow tens of thousands of civilians to escape the war zone.

In recent months, the military has driven the Tamil Tigers out of their major strongholds in the north and confined them to a small patch of coastal land along the northeast. The government has vowed to destroy the rebels and end the 25-year-old civil war plaguing this island nation.

After breaching rebel defenses, troops entered the edge of Puthukkudiyiruppu yesterday and were fighting on the outskirts of the town, the military said.