COLOMBO, Jan 7 (Reuters) -- Sri Lanka's cabinet reinstituted on Wednesday a ban on the Tamil Tiger rebels which designates them as a terrorist group, Sri Lanka's defence spokesman said.

"The cabinet has decided to ban the LTTE as they are not allowing civilians to leave the war zone," defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella, also a minister, told a press conference.

The ban against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was lifted in 2002 at the start of an ill-fated six-year truce. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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