It is widely believed that Prabhakaran's son Charles Anthony, injured in the clashes with security forces last month, could also be hiding in the No Fire Zone.

A considerable number of middle-rung Tiger leaders are now dead, leaving the outfit virtually paralysed, unable to sustain the military onslaught any longer, Fonseka told the top US diplomat.

LTTE commander-turned-parliamentarian Vinayagamoorty Muralidaran alias Karuna Amman believes Prabhakaran cannot escape to any other country as authorities abroad would not permit his stay.

Karuna, who split from the LTTE in 2004 following differences with Prabhakaran, recently said he felt that the LTTE supremo cannot evade arrest if he tries to escape to India.

Another senior Tamil leader, who has escaped several assassination attempts by the LTTE, said Prabhakaran has been almost cornered.

"Prabhakaran has already tried shifting from one bunker to another or from one hiding place to the next in Wanni. But he cannot escape from the country," said Douglas Devananda, the leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Front.

The Defence Ministry recently quoted terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratne as saying that Prabhakaran may perhaps manage to escape from Sri Lanka.

But he will become extremely vulnerable if he leaves Sri Lanka because he is in the Interpol's Red Corner Notice and is wanted by most governments in the world, Gunaratne said.

"And Prabhakaran is a proclaimed offender in the Rajiv Gandhi case. So, certainly he will not survive for more than a year. If he leaves Sri Lanka, he will be killed," the expert said.