Sri Lanka's president made a symbolic visit today to the town the Tamil Tigers had declared their capital, while an offensive to finish off the separatist rebels resumed after a two-day truce, according to Reuters. Sri Lanka's military has the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) encircled in a 17 square km (7 sq mile) strip of northeastern coastline, along with tens of thousands of civilians they have forced to stay with them. President Mahinda Rajapaksa flew in and out of the northern town of Kilinochchi, where he met with troops and military commanders who are now housed in the former LTTE Peace Secretariat -- where the Tigers used to host visiting diplomats. "He went and visited troops and returned," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. The LTTE had established Kilinochchi as the capital of the separate state it has fought to create for Sri Lanka's Tamils since the war kicked off in 1983. Troops captured it on January 2, after four months of heavy fighting. It was the first visit by a head of state to the former Tiger-held area in nearly 30 years, Nanayakkara said.
