Colombo: Sri Lanka's government is considering re-imposing a formal ban on the Tamil Tigers amid escalating fighting in the island's north, official sources said on Tuesday.
An original ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was lifted in September 2002 ahead of an Oslo-backed peace process, which collapsed when President Mahinda Rajapakse pulled out of the truce this year.
"The government may soon bring back the ban on the Tigers as fighting in the north has entered a decisive stage," a senior government official said, adding that an announcement regarding a possible formal ban may be made soon.
The official said that a government meeting to discuss the issue today was inconclusive, but noted that the President had given the Tigers an ultimatum to free civilians inside rebel-held territory by tomorrow or face a ban in the New Year.
Any ban would essentially be symbolic given the scale of the current military offensive against the LTTE and its political capital, Kilinochchi.
The Tigers, who are already outlawed by the United States and the European Union, have been waging a drawn-out campaign for independence for Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community.
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