Lankan troops 800 metres from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief

As Sri Lankan forces on Thursday fought their way to just 800 metres from the area where about 10,000-15,000 Tamil civilians are trapped along with the top LTTE leadership, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that the war was "nearing end".

Rajapaksa also promised Colombo-based foreign diplomats that once the LTTE were eliminated, his Government proposed to bring democracy to the north island.

"The war with LTTE is rapidly nearing its conclusion and we propose to create space for democracy in the north again," he said. His comments come as almost three divisions of the Lankan Army are closing in on trapped LTTE chief V Prabhakaran and his top aides.

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Sri Lankan President to visit India on November 12

Pressure from key UPA ally, DMK, to act on the Sri Lanka situation may have eased for the time being, but India will get Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a visitor by mid-November.

It is learnt that Rajapaksa has confirmed his participation at the BIMSTEC summit on November 13. He is expected to arrive late on November 12.

BIMSTEC is a trade grouping of seven countries in the region around Bay of Bengal, which includes Bangladesh, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, besides India and Sri Lanka.

The Lankan President’s one on-one meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is being worked upon by the diplomats of both sides, on the sidelines of the summit, which is likely to be attended by heads of other countries as well.

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