TIMELINE: Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war

2003 - Tigers pull out of peace talks, ceasefire holds.

2004-2005 - Tamil Tiger eastern commander Colonel Karuna Amman breaks away from LTTE and takes 6,000 fighters with him Suspected Tiger assassin kills foreign minister. Anti-Tiger hard-liner Mahinda Rajapaksa wins presidency.

2006 - Fighting flares in April-July, raising fears of start of "Eelam War 4." New talks fail in Geneva in October.

2007 - Government captures Tiger's eastern strongholds.

2008 - Government annuls ceasefire in early January and launches massive offensive.

January 2, 2009 - Troops seize Tiger's de facto capital, Kilinochchi.

April 5 - Military says it has confined the rebels to a no-fire zone measuring just 17 square km (6.5 sq miles).

April 17 - Rebels call for a truce after two-day government fighting pause expires. Government rejects the call as a ruse.

April 20 - Sri Lanka gives the rebels 24 hours to surrender as tens of thousands of civilians flee battlezone.