Sri Lanka Pres: "War to be finished in 48 hrs"

WAR NEARS END

Sri Lankan army soldiers are seen patrolling along the war zone in Vellamullivaikal, Sri Lanka, today (AP/Sri Lanka Defense Ministry, handout).

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka's president vowed to end the decades-old war against the Tamil Tiger rebels within 48 hours as the military battled Friday to take complete control of the country's coastline.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said thousands of civilians still in the war zone will be quickly freed from a tiny slice of land still controlled by the guerrillas, formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

"The freedom of the Tamil civilians held hostage by the LTTE is near at hand and the rescue of all civilians in the small patch of land held by the LTTE will be done in 48 hours," Rajapaksa told migrant workers in Jordan on Thursday.

As the fighting raged, hundreds of desperate war refugees escaped the conflict zone and a top U.N. official headed here on an urgent mission to safeguard the tens of thousands of civilians still trapped amid the heavy shelling. More>>

NEWS

• Video: Around the World (FOX News)
• Video: Aboriginal remains handed to Gov't (Australia 7 News)
• Video: Pope, Jordan pressure Netanyahu for Palestine (CBC.ca)