Sri Lanka held an official day of celebration today at the near-ending of Asia's longest-running civil war, despite claims by Tamil Tiger rebels to have killed 53 soldiers in a desperate battle to save their final hideout.

As the nation-wide commemorations took place following last week's fall of the rebel capital Kilinochchi - including speeches, hoisting flags and a two-minutes' silence - the Tigers, holed up in a small, jungle area in the north-east, issued a statement announcing what they claimed was a military success against the army.

The group said they had killed 53 soldiers in fighting on the main road towards the town of Mullaitivu, the last significant administrative centre still in rebel hands. The reports, amid an almost complete media blackout, are impossible to verify.

"At least 53 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed, more than 80 sustained injuries and the Tamil Tigers recovered two bodies of the soldiers in heavy fighting," said TamilNet, the pro-Tamil website.

The statement contradicts one given by the Army yesterday, which claimed it had captured a strategic township and was continuing through the district. The military claimed its troops had recovered the bodies of at least 15 guerrilla fighters slain in the battles.

If the military wins the battle for Mullaitivu district and the nearby Elephant Pass, the whole of Sri Lanka will be back in government hands for the first time since 1983.

Colombo, the capital, was in near-lockdown for a second successive day today with roads throughout the centre of the city closed completely for several hours by military checkpoints amid a fear of a wave of suicide attacks.

However, Sri Lankans went ahead with state celebrations, including a moment of silence in honour of the military, following the Kilinochchi victory.

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