Army chief says Tamil rebels limited to pockets

Sri Lanka's Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said Saturday that his troops have been successful in limiting the Tamil Tiger rebels to pockets in the troubled Northern and Eastern provinces.

Fonseka told reporters in the central town of Kandy that his troops need to be commended.

"The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is now limited to a few areas specially in the east. The priority for the Army now is to help government in its resettlement program of civilians," Fonseka said.

The Army since August last year launched several offensives against the rebels in the east driving them out of some of their key strongholds such as Sampur in the district of Trincomalee and Vakarai in the Batticaloa district.

The rebels have called both losses as tactical withdrawals.

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