Sri Lanka's army says it is closing in on the Tamil Tigers' de facto capital in the north.

For more than two decades, the country has been entangled in a bitter civil war.
 
More than 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict between the military and the Liberation  Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. 

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley gained exclusive access to the Sri Lankan military as it approaches Kilinochchi.