:The Tamil Tigers' political chief says the beleaguered rebel group will not surrender to advancing Sri Lankan forces and denies holding thousands of civilians as human shields.

Balasingam Nadesan said Thursday that the rebel fight for a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority would continue regardless of what happens on the battlefield. Nadesan commented in an e-mail interview with The Associated Press.

He said the rebels' top leaders remained in the shrinking war zone and appealed to the international community to force Sri Lanka to accept a cease-fire.

Sri Lanka has resisted growing diplomatic pressure to stop its offensive to allow the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the region to escape.