Q&A: Sri Lanka conflict

The army may face years of guerrilla-style attacks

Sri Lanka's government has declared victory in its war with Tamil Tigers. TV stations aired footage of a body said to be that of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. BBC News looks at one of the world's longest-running civil wars, and asks what happens now.

Who are the Tamil Tigers?

The rebels started fighting in the 1970s for a separate state - Eelam - for Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east.

They argued that Tamils had been discriminated against by successive majority Sinhalese governments.

The rebels have been among the most disciplined and organised guerrilla groups in the world in recent times. They had their own "capital", ground forces, navy and even a rudimentary air force.

They honed the tactic of suicide bombings to deadly effect and are a proscribed terrorist group in many countries.

Are the rebels finished?

The government says the rebels have been crushed, following months of heavy fighting in the last rebel stronghold in the north-east.

For the first time in decades, the army now controls the whole of Sri Lanka's territory, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa has formally declared the country "liberated".

Now the rebel movement is over as a conventional military force and its leadership has been decimated.

However, correspondents say there are still likely to be scattered guerrilla-style attacks - although it is not clear how many rebels may have escaped from the conflict zone in recent months.

The Tamil Tigers have also controlled huge financial and logistical resources, and are supported by many expatriate Tamils around the world.

What is the human and economic cost of the war?

The conflict has now killed well in excess of 70,000 people, displaced tens of thousands more and held back the island's growth and economic development.

The death toll of civilians in 2009 overall could run into the thousands, the UN and aid agencies say.

Both the military and the Tigers have been regularly accused of gross abuses of human rights by organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Sri Lanka's defence expenditure has soared in recent years - to 166.4bn rupees ($1.48bn) in 2008. This amounts to about 5% of GDP, nearly double that spent by India and Pakistan.

How were the rebels defeated?

Analysts say the main factor is increased defence spending since President Rajapakse came to power in 2005.

The military offensive was stepped up at the beginning of 2008 after the government formally abandoned a ceasefire which critics say was largely being ignored on the ground.

There were also crackdowns across Europe, Canada and the US on overseas fundraising for the rebels, who faced renewed pressure following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.

Joint patrols by the Sri Lankan and Indian navies drastically reduced arms supplies to the Tigers.

What about civilians?

Both sides in the conflict are accused of repeatedly ignoring the plight of tens of thousands of people trapped by the fighting.

The rebels denied using civilians as "human shields", while the army rejected accusations it was guilty of indiscriminate shelling.

Several hundred thousand displaced people are now housed in government-controlled camps. Aid agencies worry the government may not have the resources to look after them.

What now?

Much now depends on what the Sri Lankan authorities choose to do next.

The manner in which they pursued their military victory - ignoring international calls for restraint - may have radicalised a new generation of Tamils, both on the island and in the diaspora in Europe, Asia and North America.

There will be international pressure on Sri Lanka to give some measure of political autonomy for Tamil civilians quickly, to try to ensure that the conflict does not reignite with more violence in the future.

In his victory speech, President Rajapakse urged an end to ethnic and religious divisions and promised a "homegrown solution to this conflict".