Once considered one of the world's most sophisticated and tightly organized insurgent groups, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) may be nearing defeat in its 25-year war against the Sri Lankan government over a separate homeland for the region's minority Tamils. Sri Lankan troops captured the rebel group's last remaining airstrip on Feb. 3, following the military's Jan. 25 takeover of the city of Mullaittivu, an LTTE stronghold. An estimated 250,000 ethnic Tamils remain trapped in the war zone, with human-rights groups accusing both sides of putting civilians' lives at risk. Violence between the rebels and the Sri Lankan military has escalated since President Mahinda Rajapaksa took power in 2005; nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting since 1983.
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