Sri Lanka's government troops, who are on the verge of completely defeating Tamil Tiger rebels, have captured another defense line of the rebels, defense officials said Tuesday.

"The (Army's) 53 division conducting operations in Puthukkudiyiruppu have destroyed the LTTE earth bund and are moving forward to capture the rest of the area," military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara told reporters.

Puthukudyiruppu in the northern Mullaittivu district remains the last stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The troops say it would be a matter of time before the rebels are completely crushed.

The LTTE are currently restricted to 20 sq km, with 15 sq km of which being the government declared safe zone for Tamil civilians.

The government urged the rebels to release the Tamil civilian population held by them as human shields in the battle against troops.

Nearly 50,000 people have already left the rebel areas for safety in the government held areas.

Meanwhile, defense officials said at least seven LTTE rebels were killed on Monday during heavy fighting between the two sides in Puthukkudiyiruppu.

The LTTE have been leading an armed separatist campaign since the mid-1980s to carve out a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community based on claims that the Tamil are being discriminated at the hands of Sinhalese majority governments.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in Asia's longest civil war.

The troops have captured almost all of the 15,000 sq km territories formerly held by the LTTE in a military offensive started in 2006.

Source:Xinhua