Lanka seeks US help to avert war

A civilian died and three others were hurt when an unidentified gunman lobbed a grenade and opened fire near rebel-held territory in the eastern district of Batticaloa.

In the neighbouring Trincom-alee district, three soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack.

Amid the continuing violence, the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are locked in a propaganda war, each accusing the other of being behind a string of deadly attacks that are straining a 2002 ceasefire to breaking point.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera briefed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the island's deteriorating security situation overnight during an official visit to Washington.

"It's ... the psychological impact of maintaining pressure and trying to make the Tigers feel they are diplomatically and internationally isolated," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Suspected rebel attacks escalated after the Tigers helped sink the chances of of the candidate seen as most likely to reach a peace deal by boycotting a November presidential poll. Analysts say this shows they are using the truce to regroup and rearm.

The two sides cannot even agree on a venue for peace talks, with the Tigers insisting they be held in Europe and the government insisting on Asia or at home.

Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim is due in Sri Lanka on Jan. 23 to try to break the deadlock and the government has put the onus on him to sort out the venue.

Analysts say both sides will have to compromise or risk facing a very grim scenario.

"They'll look bloody stupid if at the end of the day the only reason why they couldn't get to talk to each other is because they couldn't agree where to do it," Saravana-muttu said.

The government is hoping the European Union will make good on a threat to list the Tigers as a banned terrorist organisation, which diplomats say the 25-nation bloc could do if the suspected rebel attacks continue.

The United States banned the LTTE in 1997 and US forces have been training Sri Lankan troops, but diplomats say there is no chance it would wade in militarily if the violence spirals into war.

India has already sidestepped Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's call to get more involved in the peace process, mindful of an abortive peacekeeping mission in the 1980s that turned into all-out war with the Tigers.

Norway said this week it would adhere to a United Nations list of banned terror organisations rather than the European Union's list.

"It makes perfect sense. It's a pre-emptive move. An EU ban would make life very hard for Norway as mediator," said one diplomat on condition of anonymity.

The Tigers say they want a political solution to the conflict, which has killed over 64,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. But they have declared they are ready for war unless they are given wide autonomy in the north and east, where they already run a de facto state.