I think the situation is very grim for the LTTE right now, there is no doubt about it. It does not, however, mean that LTTE can be defeated as many in Sri Lanka believe.
The LTTE is fighting for a cause that you may disbelieve in or you may despise but the fact is that that they are fighting for a cause. Despite many setbacks, the LTTE believes their cause is very reasonable. The fight will go on and on. Even if they are pushed out of Kilinochchi they will hide in Mullaitivu, which is a dense forest area.
Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu in the north and Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara in the eat have a high percentage of Tamil population. The LTTE has been driven out from the east. In the north, even now, Mullaitivu and large chunk of Kilinochchi is under the control of the LTTE. They have control over part of Vavuniya.
They have been driven out of Mannar and Jaffna. Mullaitivu has dense forest cover so if you fly over the tree tops you can't see the ground. There are large chunks of Mullaitivu district which has never seen proper sunshine. That's LTTE's base and operational headquarters.
I don't think the Sri Lankans will be able to take back that area. They might restrict them to the jungles of Mullaitivu. My point is the 'crushing the LTTE' or 'putting them out of shape' as some people like to term it is unlikely to happen. Kilinochchi has been a high profile political hub of LTTE so the Sri Lankans are saying that the battle is decisive now. But if you capture Delhi it's not the end of India.
Image: Sri Lankan government troops fire artillery at the Tamil Tiger rebels in Kilinochchi.
Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
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