Colombo (PTI): Not ruling out the possibility of V Prabhakaran fleeing the embattled north as troops advance into the rebel-held territory, Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka has said the LTTE supremo could not survive from his hideouts for long.

"If Prabhakaran has a wee bit of brains left in him he should give up the battle now. He will soon realise that fighting with us is useless. Otherwise he has to remain in fighting, sacrificing over 20 to 30 LTTE cadres daily while constructing more graves to honour the dead cadres," Fonseka told the state-run 'The Sunday Observer' newspaper.

On whether the Tiger leader will try to escape, Fonseka said "yes, he can escape."

"But I do not know whether he can just escape leaving his cadres and people at this stage. But as a person who loves his life more than anything he is not going to sit and die."

Prabhakaran "will disguise and flee to somewhere," the army chief said, adding "the LTTE might have various connections with all terrorist groups in the world and some would lend a helping hand for him."

The army chief claimed the LTTE has lost about 11,000 cadres during the last two years and said the troops moved 60 km deep into the Tiger stronghold of Wanni since March 2007.

"The LTTE is now left with 4,000 cadres and they can conscript more, but how long can they do that?" Fonseka said. "This is a decisive period of the LTTE and Prabhakaran needs to decide not only his fate, but also the fate of his cadres soon."

The army commander said the Sri Lankan Air Force had the wherewithal to hit at the bunkers where Prabhakaran may be hiding.

If the security forces capture the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi, Prabhakaran would have to live just like another refugee, Fonseka said.

"The hideouts for Prabhakaran are shrinking now as the Air Force is successfully destroying his bases," he said.

"The military wants Wanni people to abandon him and the LTTE. When the troops start advancing from Nachchikuda, the falling of Kilinochchi and Paranthan is unavoidable. Then, he (Prabhakaran) and his cadres will be pushed more into Mullaithivu, their very last resort," Fonseka said.

The Air Force has the capacity of destroying bunkers over 40 m down, he said. "So I do not think Prabhakaran can survive (from) any of the underground hideouts. The LTTE now cannot keep their artillery and mortar positions in Kilinochchi."

"If Prabhakaran feels for his life abandoning his people it will show what his motive is. If he is the so-called saviour of the Tamils he must remain with his people and face the situation or let innocent Tamils find their freedom," Fonseka told the newspaper.