Int'l concern mounts over Lanka violence

Two soldiers and a policeman died in the Claymore mine attack blamed on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island's north, military officials said, while in the east the two sides exchanged mortar fire.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the long-range mortar battle at Vavunathivu in Batticaloa district, where the guerrillas were holding the funeral of a senior field commander shot dead on Sunday.

The Tigers warned the killing of their eastern region intelligence leader, identified as Colonel Ramanan, could push them to a "major war" with government forces.

The Tigers blamed the military while the government denied any hand in the slaying.

More than 600 people have been killed since violence began escalating in December, according to an AFP tally. More than half the victims were civilians.

Troops, police, Tamil Tigers and civilians have died in explosions, shootings, naval engagements and other action despite a Norwegian-brokered truce in force since February 2002.

Norway's peace envoy flew to Sri Lanka yesterday for a fresh round of separate meetings with government officials and the Tamil Tigers, but the rebels played down hopes of breaking a deadlock over stalled peace talks.

The government hopes special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer and Norwegian peace mediator Erik Solheim, due to join him on Friday, can cajole the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) back to talks they pulled out of indefinitely amid an upsurge in violence.

But as the Tigers prepared to bury one of their top commanders in the restive east after a weekend assassination they blame on the army, they say any peace talks are a long way off.