Fresh bid to salvage Lankan ceasefire

Two Claymore mine attacks also rocked the troubled regions Wednesday, wounding at least four people including two civilians, police said.

A foreign national, believed to be a Southeast Asian, was among those wounded Wednesday, police said adding that his vehicle was hit by a Claymore mine in the northern district of Vavuniya.

A spokesman said two sailors were wounded when their water tanker was hit by a land mine while two civilians were injured when their truck was caught up in a mine attack in the island's north.

The Norwegian emissary Jon Hanssen-Bauer bought forward his meeting with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to Tuesday, shortly after arriving here amid an upsurge in violence which the government blames on Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) accused the government of unleashing violence against civilians in areas where the island's minority Tamils are concentrated.

"Sri Lankan military forces and paramilitary groups are continuing with violence against Tamil civilians, killing five in separate incidents within five hours on Monday," the LTTE said in a statement Wednesday.

Police said five more people were found on Wednesday shot dead in the northern peninsula of Jaffna. The pro-rebel Tamilnet website said the victims had been gunned down by security forces on Tuesday night.

"The five civilians were... ordered to run through the Tharavai area, an open terrain near the camp (in the peninsula), shot and killed by the Sri Lanka army," the Tamilnet said.

There was no immediate word from the military about the allegations.

The killings came as Hanssen-Bauer met with the prime minister.

"There was a meeting last night between the prime minister and the Norwegian envoy," a spokesman for the premier's office said without giving details.

As Hanssen-Bauer arrived Tuesday, Colombo agreed to helicopter transport for Tiger rebels in a bid to clear the way for truce talks in Switzerland next week.

Colombo's top official handling the peace process, Palitha Kohona, said they told the Norwegian peace broker the LTTE could charter a helicopter to transport their field commanders for a central committee meeting.