Sri Lanka's president has confirmed a two-and-a-half-year jail term for former army chief Sarath Fonseka. Sarath Fonseka was hailed as a hero for leading the army in last year's defeat of the Tamil Tiger separatists, which ended decades of civil war. But he fell out with president Mahinda Rajapakse over who should take credit for the victory. A court martial earlier this month found him guilty of making irregular military purchases at the height of the fighting. A spokesman for the Sri Lankan government says the president has backed the sentence and it will begin immediately. The former general's supporters maintain the cases against him are politically motivated.AIR correspondent reports, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has endorsed the recommendation of the second military court martial sentencing the former army chief Sarath Fonseka for a 30 month jail term after finding him guilty for violating tender procedures in procurements for the army. The former army chief was found guilty of the charges of purchase of night vision devices, generators, batteries and equipment for VHS direction finders from a firm with which his son-in-law was associated. The court martial recommended the sentence on September 17, but the President was away from the country attending the UN General Assembly in New York delaying the implementation of the sentence. Sources in the military said that Fonseka would now be transferred from the Navy headquarters to the Welikada prisons to serve the jail term.