(CNN) -- Sri Lanka's president declared Wednesday that the country's Tamil insurgents are on the verge of total defeat, saying their demise has helped unite the island nation on the 61st anniversary of its independence.



Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa



"We are today a nation that has defeated a powerful enemy that stood before us," Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his independence day speech. "Our entire nation is now united in the shade of the national flag."



But in other parts of his speech, Rajapaksa indicated that the fight against the Tamil Tiger rebels was not over.



"I am confident that in a few days we will decisively defeat the terrorist force that many repeatedly kept saying was invincible," he said.



In another part of the speech, he said, government forces over the past two and a half years have "been able ... to almost completely defeat" the rebel forces.



Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa rejected calls Wednesday for a negotiated end to the fighting. He said there would be no political solution, the online edition of The Island reported. Some in the international community have suggested negotiations to give the rebels an opportunity to surrender.



That idea is ridiculous, an angry Rajapaksa told The Island, emphasizing that nothing short of unconditional surrender of arms and cadres could end the offensive on the Vanni front.



Government troops and Tamil rebels are locked in a battle for the remaining rebel strongholds in the north of Sri Lanka, where the the country's ethnic Tamil minority has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1983.  Watch a report on risks facing journalists in Sri Lanka »



Humanitarian groups say as many as 250,000 unprotected civilians are trapped in the area where the fighting is taking place, and the onslaught has intensified as government forces have closed in on the rebels.



Aid agencies have asked for increased access to the region, calling conditions in northern Sri Lanka a nightmarish situation.



The fighting has forced the closure of Pudukkudiyiruppu hospital in the Vanni region, the last functioning medical facility in the conflict zone.
What are government troops and rebels battling for? Number of civilians that are trapped according to aid groups? How many civilians are trapped? How many civilians are trapped, according to aid groups? What country is being discussed here? How long have the Ethnic Tamil minority been fighting? How many civilians are trapped due to this conflict? What do the Tamils want? What happend to the last functioning medical facility in the zone? Year the ethnic Tamil minority have been fighting since? How long have the Tamil minority been fighting for independence?
strongholds in the north of Sri Lanka, many as 250,000 as 250,000 250,000 Sri Lanka, since 1983. as an independent homeland The fighting has forced the closure of Pudukkudiyiruppu hospital in the Vanni region, 1983. an independent homeland since 1983.
question: What are government troops and rebels battling for?, answer: strongholds in the north of Sri Lanka, | question: Number of civilians that are trapped according to aid groups?, answer: many as 250,000 | question: How many civilians are trapped?, answer: as 250,000 | question: How many civilians are trapped, according to aid groups?, answer: 250,000 | question: What country is being discussed here?, answer: Sri Lanka, | question: How long have the Ethnic Tamil minority been fighting?, answer: since 1983. | question: How many civilians are trapped due to this conflict?, answer: as | question: What do the Tamils want?, answer: an independent homeland | question: What happend to the last functioning medical facility in the zone?, answer: The fighting has forced the closure of Pudukkudiyiruppu hospital in the Vanni region, | question: Year the ethnic Tamil minority have been fighting since?, answer: 1983. | question: How long have the Tamil minority been fighting for independence?, answer: an independent homeland since 1983.