Sri Lanka's government faces its final opportunity to avert a return to civil war, the Tamil Tigers have warned, vowing to use all available resources to fight unless given a homeland.
The Tigers, who have threatened to resume their struggle next year unless given political powers in the north and east, said the deadline depended on the response from new President Mahinda Rajapakse.
"We don't prefer war. If a war is thrusted on the Tamil people, the Tamil people and the LTTE (will) make use of all the resources available to fight back," S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the Tigers' political wing, told Reuters in the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi in an interview late on Friday.