Tigers recommit to truce, safety of monitors

But while both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government have now told Norway that they will honour the truce, many fear it is just a matter of time before rash of attacks and clashes reignite a two-decade civil war.

"We have committed to the ceasefire agreement and Norway's facilitation role and giving diplomatic immunity and protection to the SLMM monitors who are working in the northeast," S. Puleedevan, head of the Tigers' peace secretariat, told Reuters referring to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

"When it comes to the protection of the SLMM, on the part of the LTTE, we can give a 100 percent security guarantee," he added by telephone from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.

The Tigers said they had sent a letter to Norway to respond to a set of questions asked after the rebels walked out of crunch talks in Oslo earlier this month without meeting the Sri Lankan government delegation.

That in turn came after the Tigers warned the monitors to stay away from navy boats after a close shave in May when the rebels fired at a patrol boat with a monitor aboard. Violence has since soared.

The Tigers did not comment on their previous demand that members of the monitoring mission fromEuropean Union nations leave after the EU banned them as terrorists.

"We don't want to comment on that at the moment since we have just sent the letter to the Norwegians," Puleedevan said.