President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka has officially announced the final defeat of the Tamil Tigers after 26 years of conflict. In a nationally televised live address, the president said the government now controlled all of the island's territory and that it was a significant day in the history of Sri Lanka.

The army said it killed the leader of the Tamil rebels on Monday after over-running the last patch of territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But a Tamil website denies the death of Vellupillai Prabhakaran. According to the rebels' international relations chief Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the Tamil leader is alive and safe and will continue to "lead the quest for freedom of the Tamil people.

But it would appear the armed struggle finally appears to be over. In the final intensive government offensive, the Tamils were driven back to a narrow strip of coast. On Sunday, the beleaguered Tamil Tigers insurgents announced they were giving up the fight.

The European Union has called for an independent inquiry into alleged human rights violations during the civil war in Sri Lanka. In a statement, the EU foreign ministers say "those accountable must be brought to justice" for the disproportionate loss of civilian lives.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Sri Lanka on Friday to personally take stock of the humanitarian situation among the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians in government reception centres in the northeast.