It's a joke: Sri Lanka dismisses claim of Tamil politician that Prabhakaran is still alive

In a bitterly fought campaign that began in 1983, Sri Lanka's military ended the nearly three-decade brutal civil war in the island nation in May 2009, by killing the leaders of the LTTE.

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sri Lanka on Monday dismissed a top Tamil nationalist leader's sensational claim that LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed in 2009 by the island nation's military, was still alive.

Sri Lanka's defence ministry dismissed Nedumaran's claim as a joke. "It is confirmed that he was killed on 19 May 2009. The DNA has proved it," Colonel Nalin Herath, Sri Lanka's defence ministry spokesman told PTI.

P Nedumaran, the leader of Tamil Nationalist Movement (TNM) and Ulaka Tamilar Peramaippu (World Tamil Confederation) said that Velupillai Prabhakaran, the commander of the defeated terror group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is alive, safe and in good health. Although the leader didn't reveal LTTE Chief's current location but claimed he will soon make a public appearance.

How was Velupillai Prabhakaran killed

In a bitterly fought campaign that began in 1983, Sri Lanka's military ended the nearly three-decade brutal civil war in the island nation in May 2009, by killing the leaders of the LTTE.

The then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 18, 2009 declared the end of a 26-year war in which over 1,00,000 people were killed and millions of Sri Lankans, mainly minority Tamils were displaced as refugees inside the country and abroad.

The Sri Lankan government later produced photographic and video evidence purporting to show Prabhakaran's dead body, although some have questioned the authenticity of these materials.

The circumstances surrounding Prabhakaran's death remain controversial, with some claiming that he was executed by Sri Lankan troops rather than killed in a fair fight. However, the Sri Lankan government has maintained that Prabhakaran was killed during a legitimate military operation, and that his death marked the end of the decades-long conflict between the LTTE and the government.

The LTTE was fighting for an independent state for the Tamilians in Sri Lanka's North and Eastern provinces. Though the exact date when Prabhakaran was killed by the Sri Lankan Army was not known, his death was announced on May 19, 2009.

Prabhakaran fought a long and bloody civil war against the Sri Lankan government, causing significant loss of life on both sides. Prabhakaran was widely considered a controversial figure, with some viewing him as a freedom fighter and others as a terrorist.