Government troops captured a strategic Tamil Tiger-held town Monday, as Sri Lankans raised flags and held a moment of silence to honor the military as it battles to end the country's 25-year-old civil war, AP reported. Government forces have won a string of stunning victories over the rebels in recent months, forcing them to withdraw from much of the de facto state they once controlled in the north. On Friday, troops took control of the rebels' administrative capital, Kilinochchi, dealing a harsh blow to their dreams of establishing a separate state for ethnic Tamils. The rebels, as well has hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting, are now confined to a jungle area slightly larger than the city of Los Angeles. In honor of the troops, and of those slain in the war, the government held flag-raising ceremonies across the country and called for two minutes of silence, even as the military pressed ahead with its attacks. Troops on Monday took control of the town of Oddusudan, which sits at an important crossroads leading to the rebel town of Mullaittivu, according to military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
