COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 17, SPA -- The Sri Lankan military says all the civilians who had been trapped in the northern war zonehave escaped. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said Sundaythat about 50,000 ethnic Tamil civilians fled the area overthe past three days. Government forces were still fightingwith pockets of rebel resistance, Associated Press reported. The fighting comes a day after Sri Lanka's presidentdeclared victory in the quarter-century civil war with theTamil Tigers.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/665117