Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa (C) walks along a red carpet after arriving in the northern town of Kilinochchi April 16, 2009 during a one-day visit to the Sri Lankan defence force based in the war-torn north of the country. Sri Lanka's two-day humanitarian truce ended on Wednesday and the military announced it was now free to begin a final assault to end the 25-year war against the rebel Tamil Tigers. The Sri Lankan military says only 1,000 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels remain, and accuse the fighters of holding around 100,000 civilians as human shields. REUTERS/Sri Lankan Government/Handout (SRI LANKA CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS) QUALITY FROM SOURCE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
REUTERS/Ho