New Delhi (PTI): Even as Sri Lankan army is close to LTTE headquarters Killinochi, India feels a military "victory" would not solve the problem being faced by the island nation and the side-effects in the form of terrorism could be "dangerous".

New Delhi believes that the Sri Lankan government would have to address the problem politically by giving enough space to all sections of the society there to feel comfortable.

"There is no military solution to the problem. Even if they (Lankan military) take control of Killinochi, the Tamil tigers may spread out to other parts of the country and continue terrorism," sources said here.

"Even if Killonichi is seized, it does not solve the problem. It will be a victory but not the solution. The side effects could be dangerous," they said.

The Indian government wants Colombo to implement the power devolution package as part of settling the issue politically.

New Delhi, however, is clear that LTTE is a terrorist organisation which was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and that it is not the representative of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.

And at the same time, the Tamils in the island nation are a divided lot, often killing each other.

India is concerned over the humanitarian aspect of the conflict as about 2 lakh people are said to have been affected by the war.

The Sri Lankan government has assured India that steps would be taken to ensure that civilians are not affected during the war.

Relief material has been sent by India through the Red Cross for them and it will be reaching them soon, sources said.

Another pitfall of the conflict is the impact on Indian fishermen who are often caught or killed when they inadvertently cross into the Sri Lankan waters.

A mechanism has recently been evolved under which the fishermen are given I-cards and the system is working well for past few weeks, the sources said.

India asserts that it has not given any military aid to the Sri Lankan government but is only helping them in defensive aspects.