On April 5, 2009, SLA troops gained total control over entire area of Puthukkudiyirippu, pushing ತಮಿಳು ಹುಲಿಗಳು into no-fire zone set up for ನಾಗರಿಕರ.<ref name="mod-mu-04/05/09"></ref>

On April 20, 2009, ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ army captured long earth bund, built by ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ on western border of no-fire zone, ಮತ್ತು rescued over 30,000 ನಾಗರಿಕರ who had been trapped at Puthumathalan ಮತ್ತು Amplalavanpokkani areas.<ref name="mod-mu-04/20/09"></ref> Meanwhile, ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ accused ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ ಸರ್ಕಾರ of killing about 1,000 ನಾಗರಿಕರ ಮತ್ತು injuring many more during its latest ಸೇನೆ ಆಕ್ರಮಣ. ಆದಾಗ್ಯೂ, ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ has attacked fleeing ನಾಗರಿಕರ using suicide bomber ಮತ್ತು killing around 15 ನಾಗರಿಕರ.

On April 21, 2009, ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ troops reportedly launched ‘final assault’ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ, especially targeting its ನಾಯಕ, Vellupillai ಪ್ರಭಾಕರನ್‌. At same time, mass ತಮಿಳು exodus from 'no-fire zone' was under way.

On April 22, 2009, two senior ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ ಸದಸ್ಯರುಗಳು (ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ media co-ordinator Velayuthan Thayanithi, alias Daya Master, ಮತ್ತು top interpreter Kumar Pancharathnam, alias George) surrendered to advancing ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ army. This came as " rude shock" ಮತ್ತು major setback for rebel ನಾಯಕತ್ವ.

By April 25, 2009, area under ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ was reduced to 10 km. While ತಮಿಳು exodus from 'no-fire zone' continued, UN estimated that around 6,500 ನಾಗರಿಕರ may have been killed ಮತ್ತು another 14,000 wounded between January 2009 ಮತ್ತು April 2009. ಒಪ್ಪಂದing to BBC, land recaptured by army from rebels in past few months is totally depopulated ಮತ್ತು destruction is seen everywhere.

On April 29, 2009, Ministry of Defence aired interview called Hidden Reality, with Daya Master ಮತ್ತು George, of their experience ಮತ್ತು time in 'no-fire zone'. When asked why they had surrendered, both men stressed that rebels were shooting at ನಾಗರಿಕರ ಮತ್ತು preventing them from escaping from 'no-fire zone' to safety in ಸರ್ಕಾರ-controlled areas. They also confirmed that ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ were still abducting ಮತ್ತು conscripting children as young as 14 years old, ಮತ್ತು would fire at anyone who tried to resist. BBC news also reported that Tigers are forcefully recruiting young children ಮತ್ತು are stopping people from moving out to ಸರ್ಕಾರ-controlled areas.

On May 8, 2009, group of ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ United Nations experts called on ಮಾನವ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳು ಸಭೆ to urgently set up international inquiry to address “critical” situation in ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ amid fighting between Army ಮತ್ತು ತಮಿಳು rebels. ಒಪ್ಪಂದing to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 196,000 people fled ಸಂಘರ್ಷ zone, shrinking pocket of land on north-east coastline, where clashes continued between ಸರ್ಕಾರ troops ಮತ್ತು ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ, while at least 50,000 people were still trapped there.

Dr. V. Shanmugarajah, working in makeshift hospital in ಸಂಘರ್ಷ zone, made clಗುರಿ (which BBC stated was "impossible to verify") that at least 378 ನಾಗರಿಕರ were killed ಮತ್ತು another 1,122 hurt during heavy ಮತ್ತು lengthy shelling overnight on May 9, 2009. The ವ್ಯವಹಾರಿಕ stated that shelling came from territory controlled by ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ army. The Ministry of Health denied that there was ಸರ್ಕಾರ ವ್ಯವಹಾರಿಕ with BBC source's name in ಸಂಘರ್ಷ zone. The ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ ಸೇನೆ denied shelling 'no-fire zone', ಮತ್ತು attributed it to ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ. Videos were released to media of site ಮತ್ತು site was clearly affected by war.<ref name="mod-mu-05/12/09"></ref> A UN spokesman in ಕೊಲಂಬೊ, Gordon Weiss, said more than 100 children died during "large-scale killing of ನಾಗರಿಕರ" ಮತ್ತು described situation in northern ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ as "bloodbath". UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was appalled at killing of hundreds of ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ ನಾಗರಿಕರ caught in middle of hostilities between army ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕತಾ ವಾದಿ ತಮಿಳು rebels over weekend. He voiced deep concern over continued use of heavy weapons in ಸಂಘರ್ಷ zone, but also stressed that “reckless disrespect shown by ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ for safety of ನಾಗರಿಕರ has led to thousands of people remaining trapped in area”.

On May 13, 2009, Dr. T. Varatharajah in Mullivaikal told BBC more than 50 people had died when two shells hit zone's main hospital compound. Sources in UN said they agreed with that figure ಮತ್ತು that 100 had been injured. A ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ technician working for International Committee of Red Cross was killed in shelling along with his mother, organisation said. US President Barack Obama urged ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ to stop "indiscriminate shelling" of ನಾಗರಿಕರ ಮತ್ತು urged ತಮಿಳು ಹುಲಿ rebels to lay down their arms. In unanimous statement UN Security ಸಭೆ "strongly condemned ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ for its continued use of ನಾಗರಿಕರ as human shields ಮತ್ತು acknowledged legitimate right of ಸರ್ಕಾರ of ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ to combat terrorism”. At same time, ಸಭೆ ಸದಸ್ಯರುಗಳು “expressed deep concern at reports of continued use of heavy calibre weapons in areas with high concentrations of ನಾಗರಿಕರ, ಮತ್ತು expected ಸರ್ಕಾರ of ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ to fulfil its commitment in this regard”.

On May 16, 2009, ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ troops broke through ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ defences ಮತ್ತು captured last section of coastline held by ತಮಿಳು ಹುಲಿ rebels. The army reported it was set to "clear" remaining rebel-held land within days.<ref name="mod-mu-05/16/09"></ref> Later ಸೇನೆ clಗುರಿed, allegedly citing intercepted ಎಲ್‍ಟಿಟಿಇ communication, that rebels are preparing for mass suicide after being effectively cut-off of escape routes.<ref name="mod-nfz-05/16/09"></ref> Some rebels have been reported to be blowing themselves up.

"The Times" newspaper has reported, clಗುರಿing source within U.N., that as many as 20,000 ನಾಗರಿಕರ were killed in Safe Zone. The paper further asserted that some of deaths were caused by ತಮಿಳು ಹುಲಿಗಳು but most were as result of shelling by ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ ಸೇನೆ. The UN had estimated that 6,500 ನಾಗರಿಕರ had been killed in three months to middle of April, while it has no ವ್ಯವಹಾರಿಕ figure after that date. "The Times" number asserts that death toll soared to 1,000 each day in final two weeks of war. The UN says it has no confirmed estimates of civilian casualties ಮತ್ತು ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ ಸರ್ಕಾರ has denied "Times' " allegations. "The Guardian" newspaper, quoting another U.N. ವ್ಯವಹಾರಿಕ, called Times' figure as "dangerous extrapolation". "The Guardian" also questioned many underlying assumptions of "The Times figure. " 

The five doctors (Sivapalan, V. Shanmugaraja, Thurairaja Vartharaja, Sathyamoorthy ಮತ್ತು Ilancheliyan) who reported mass civilian casualties in final phase of ಅಂತರ್ಯುದ್ಧ issued statements on 8 ಜುಲೈ 2009 recanting their reports. They said causulaty figures they released were exaggerated ಮತ್ತು were handed to them by ತಮಿಳು ಹುಲಿಗಳು. They stated that between January 2009 ಮತ್ತು end of war in May 2009 some 600-700 ನಾಗರಿಕರ were killed ಮತ್ತು twice that number had been injured. This contradicts figures issued by international aid agencies: United Nations says that 6,500 were killed between late January ಮತ್ತು early April; ಮತ್ತು Red Cross evacuated 14,000 sick ಮತ್ತು injured people between mid-February ಮತ್ತು mid-May. The doctors also said that it was not true that hospital had been shelled on 2 February. ಆದಾಗ್ಯೂ, UN ಮತ್ತು Red Cross, both of whom had their own staff in Safe Zone, say that hospital was shelled ಮತ್ತು ನಾಗರಿಕರ were killed.

The United Nations says it stands ಯಿಂದ its casualty figures. Amnesty International says doctors' recantation lacks credibility because they have been detained for two months by ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದ ಸೇನೆ without access to lawyers; they face torture, ill-treatment ಮತ್ತು other forms of duress; senior ಸರ್ಕಾರ officials have threatened doctors with serious charges, including treason; ಮತ್ತು because doctors' recent statements contradict independently verified facts. Amnesty says it remains concerned about doctors' safety. It has repeatedly called for ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ inquiry into alleged war crimes committed ಯಿಂದ both sides. It has also urged all ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ organisations, including UN ಮತ್ತು Red Cross, who collected information about final phase of war to release that information so that world knows truth about casualty figures ಮತ್ತು war crimes.

Fighting in 'no-fire zone'
ಈಳಮ್‌ War III
Talks ಮತ್ತು further violence
ಪಾನ್‌-ತಮಿಳು ಆಸರೆ