Sri Lanka Kills Rebel Leader

As if to reiterate its announcement that it has finally defeated the Tamil Tigers after 25 years of civil war, the Sri Lankan government announced today that it has killed the Tiger’s chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, “ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.” The government sent a text message to phones around the country announcing his and his top deputies’ deaths. “The announcement sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing,” reports the Associated Press. The Tigers were called a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, using suicide attacks, and recruited child soldiers. “Prabhakaran's death has been seen as crucial to bringing closure to this 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 here.”