Original sentence: President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared military victory over the Tigers on May 16, 2009 after 26 years of conflict and the rebel leader Prabhakaran was reported to have been killed by government forces.The LTTE finally admitted defeat on May 17, 2009, with the rebels' chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, stating on the website that "This battle has reached its bitter end ... We have decided to silence our guns
Edited sentence: President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared military victory over the Tigers on May 16, 2009 after 26 years of conflict and the terrorists leader Prabhakaran was reported to have been killed by government forces.The LTTE finally admitted defeat on May 17, 2009, with the terrorists' chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, stating on the website that "This battle has reached its bitter end ... We have decided to silence our guns