Exuding confidence that LTTE will never "raise its head again" after it suffered a string of military defeats at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has asked the rebels to surrender, promising to "rehabilitate" them as "good citizens".

"Ninety nine per cent of the LTTE, its leaders, cadres and infrastructure have been destroyed. There is no way the LTTE can raise its head again," Rajapaksa said.

The President hailed Sri Lankan armed forces as one of the best in the world and said he was "proud" to be their Commander-in-Chief.

"I ask the remaining LTTE cadres to surrender. We will look after them and rehabilitate them. We will make them good and productive citizen of this country," said the President.

He was responding to a query by ‘The Bottom Line’ Newspaper on his reaction to the recent victories achieved by the security forces over the LTTE.

"As the Commander-in-Chief, I am very proud of our Army, and they are the world's number one, as have been proved by their deeds," the President said.

Rajapaksa said a huge cache of weapons left by the LTTE have been found from the battle areas even as the Sri Lankan troops consolidated ahead of the final onslaught.

To provide enough supplies for the forthcoming New Year celebrations as much as 1500 metric tonnes of food have been sent for the Tamil Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS), Rajapaksa told the newspaper.

According to officials, in line with the policies of the President, new measures are being taken to release the civilians trapped in the No Fire Zone.

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