a resumption of the war is a real possibility.

The Tamil civil war ended as the rebel faction faction fell apart and the leader of the eastern Tamil faction, Karuna, fled. There was some fighting, but not many casualties. But it appears that thousands of LTTE fighters have deserted. Many of the LTTE troops are teenagers who were, essentially, kidnapped and forced into service. Many of the young adults were forced to take up arms by rebels apply pressure to his (or her) family. The rebellion also points out differences of opinion between hard liner and moderate Tamils, as well as between the Tamils in the northern part of the island, where the population is nearly all Tamil, and eastern Sri Lanka, where Tamils are