Sri Lanka president asks Tamil Tigers to surrender

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse called on cornered Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down their arms and unconditionally surrender to security forces in a public address today. He said the LTTE had been encircled in a narrow strip of land and had taken thousands of civilians hostage.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse called on cornered Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down their arms and unconditionally surrender to security forces in a public address on Saturday.

HT Image

"I want to tell the Tigers 'lay down arms and surrender to security forces'," the president said at a public rally in the northwestern district of Kurunegala.

He said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had been encircled in a narrow strip of land and had taken thousands of civilians hostage.

"They must let the civilians go and then unconditionally give themselves up," he said.