UN warns Lanka against return to war

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed concern for the Norwegian-backed peace bid in Sri Lanka where at least 135 people, including 78 security personnel, have been killed in an upsurge in violence since December.

"The Secretary General stresses that a return to conflict will not resolve outstanding differences between the parties," his office said in a statement.

Annan's statement came as another mine blast wounded seven people Tuesday in the island's north-east where suspected Tiger rebels also fought a gun battle with troops and lost two of their cadres, according to the military.

Military officials said members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ambushed a navy bus by setting off a landmine in the restive northeast port district of Trincomalee Tuesday, leaving six sailors wounded.

The explosive device rigged up to a bicycle went off as the bus passed by, a military official said, adding that the vehicle escaped the full impact.

Annan strongly urged the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to shore up the ceasefire, ensure respect for the human rights and urgently revive their stalled talks.

Peace broker Norway is sending International Development Minister Erik Solheim next week to try to jump start the peace process.

Norway sent its ambassador here, Hans Brattskar, to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi Tuesday for talks with the LTTE leadership on salvaging a ceasefire arranged by Oslo and in place since February 2002.

Brattskar was accompanied by members of the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which also suffered a bomb attack last week.

The pro-rebel Tamilnet website said the Tigers were due to take up, among other things, the issue of disarming members of a breakaway rebel faction allegedly backed by Colombo, de-escalation of violence and harassment by security forces.

The LTTE, meanwhile, said in a statement that seven Tamil civilians had been killed on Sunday in separate incidents in the northern peninsula of Jaffna.

"Incidents of mindless targeted murders of Tamil civilians by paramilitaries assisted by the Sri Lankan army are on the increase in Jaffna," the statement said.