Attacks to intensify, warns Lankan Tamil front

The Tamil Resurgence Force, which first emerged in December and is one of a clutch of groups the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) say have rallied to their cause, said it would also attack Tamil government allies.

The threat comes two days after the rebels plunged diplomatic efforts to salvage the peace process into crisis by refusing to hold talks in Oslo and demanding that truce monitors from European Union nations withdraw in protest at the LTTE's inclusion on an EU list of terrorist groups.

The EPDP is a former paramilitary group opposed to the Tigers which joined the political mainstream and now has a cabinet minister, but analysts say militant members are involved in attacks on the rebels and their supporters.

The Tigers said on Friday they remained committed to the 2002 ceasefire despite a rash of attacks and deadly ambushes that have killed dozens of servicemen.

Meanwhile, Norway said yesterday it would continue to act as peace broker between Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger rebels despite the recent breakdown in talks between the two sides, which had thrown its role into doubt.

The rebels on Thursday aborted a two-day meeting in Oslo with Colombo representatives arranged by Norway to discuss the safety of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) overseeing a fragile truce in the island nation.

But around 600 people, half of them civilians, have been killed so far this year in what analysts say are apparent tit-for-tat attacks by both sides, and many diplomats fear a low intensity conflict is set to escalate.