In a report based on an interview with an unnamed rebel official, the newspaper provides a graphic account of the last days of the war.

“Tamil rebels holed up in ever-diminishing territory in northern Sri Lanka forcibly recruited children to take part in final defences against government troops, according to a former senior official. Some of the youngsters were sent to fight with just one day's basic training. A number of civilians who tried to escape to the government side were shot”. the report says.

Thousands bacame refugees after the war

Children recruited

The official, who held a non-military position with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), had told Andrew Bunscombe of the Independent, “that in the spring of 2009, the rebels found themselves in an ever-worsening situation that led them to step up their forced recruitment of civilians between the age of 14 and 55. He said more than 300,000 civilians had intentionally been held to provide cover for the LTTE fighters”.

The civilians knew [what was happening]. They could not move out of LTTE control. Some people who tried to leave were shot

"There was no age discrimination. One day's training and then [they would] get sent to the war front," the former official had told the Independent, who said his own child had been forcibly recruited, but that he was able to escape towards government troops.

Creating panic among Sinhalese

Asked if he believed the rebels committed war crimes, the former official had said: "There were many war crimes during that last time. The civilians knew [what was happening]. They could not move out of LTTE control. Some people who tried to leave were shot."

Asked about the tactic of the LTTE to target civilians and even schoolchildren, the official said not everyone within the movement supported the move and were aware of the international backlash it would bring.

"That was why they denied it," the official had told the British newspaper. As to why the tactic was adopted, "They wanted to create a panic among the Sinhala people."

Support of the Sinhala people

"The main thing is to find a political solution," said the official, who is due before a court next year to face charges relating to his role with the LTTE.
"The war is over, the LTTE is defeated. So far there has been no signal about a political solution. They say they are having negotiations, but people are not satisfied."

He added: "We need a political solution, but without the support of the Sinhala people, the Tamil people cannot get a political solution."