Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa officially announced the end to a decades-long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Tuesday.

"Today, we have been able to liberate the whole country from LTTE terrorism," Rajapaksa told parliament. "We have been able to defeat one of the most heinous terrorist groups in the world."

The government has said it killed the Tamil Tigers leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, as well as his son and heir-apparent, Charles Anthony, and two top lieutenants.

However, as the country prepared a national holiday to celebrate the defeat of the Tamil rebels, the European Union and the United States struck a more cautionary note.

EU concerned about civilian casualties

The European Union has demanded an independent inquiry into allegations of human rights abuses during the fighting.

"I very much hope the government of Sri Lanka will realize that this is the moment to show it governs in the interests of all the people of Sri Lanka, not just some of them," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

The European Union said it was "appalled by the loss of innocent civilian lives" and the high number of casualties, notably children and said that those accountable "must be brought to justice."

On Tuesday, international aid agencies pushed Sri Lanka to allow emergency aid to be delievered to an estimated 265,000 people who fled fighting in recent months.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, the only international aid oganization working in the conflict zone, said the military's final assault had made it impossible to reach civilians in need of help.

"No humanitarian aid has reached those who need it for over a week," director Pierre Kraehenbuehl said.

Government urged to protect civil rights

Washington called on Sri Lanka to "turn the page" and to "create a political arrangement that promotes and protects the rights of all Sri Lankans."

President Rajapaksa promised to find a "homegrown" solution to the underlying cause to the crisis: the desire for a separate Tamil homeland. He pledged to "protect all people, including Tamil-speaking people, is my duty and responsibility."

Rajapaksa also vowed to resettle those displaced by the fighting.

"There are no minority communities in the country," he added.

Tamils deny leader was killed

The Tamil Tigers have vowed to continue their "freedom struggle" and according to a pro-Tamil website, they deny that their leader has been killed. Sri Lanka's military claims Prabharkarn was killed while trying to flee the combat zone in an ambulance on Monday. His vehicle was hit and the body burned, according to army sources.

LTTE spokesman Selvarasa Pathmanathan said the government had fabricated the news in order to "gloat" following its military victory.

"Our beloved leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is alive and safe," Pathmanathan said on the website. "He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people."

th/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Nick Amies