Civilians leave the area to avoid the fighting [EPA]

The defence ministry described the capture of the "nerve centre" on Thursday as "one more decisive and impressive phase" in its campaign to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the separatist group that has been fighting for a homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north of the country.

Both sides in this long-fought conflict have taken heavy tolls in recent weeks after the government declared that it would defeat the Tigers by the end of the year.

Casualty figures are difficult to verify as the military bars the media from the area of fighting and both sides distort statistics to their advantage.

The army cflaimed to have killed at lest 41 Tamil Tigers, while the separatists claimed to have killed 12 soldiers in the latest engagement.

Two weeks ago, the army said it was within artillery distance of Kilinochchi, the regional capital within the Tamil territory.

In January, the government abandoned a truce both sides had largely ignored.

Three-quarters of Sri Lanka's 21 million population are Sinhalese, and have led every government since independence from Britain in 1948. The Tamils argue that they are a marginalised minority.

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