Army offensive may derail talks: LTTE

The army was around 5 km inside Tiger territory in the restive eastern district of Batticaloa early on Saturday, officials said, after pushing through the rebels' forward defence lines on Friday to the alarm of aid workers and truce monitors.

The rebels have threatened to withdraw from the truce completely if attacks by the military continue, while the government says it reserves the right to retaliate if the Tigers attack security forces.

"Unless the Sri Lankan military halts its actions, we will be forced into an unfortunate situation where we will have to re-examine our decision (to hold talks)," Tiger political wing leader SP Thamilselvan said in a letter sent to Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer overnight and obtained by Reuters.

The military justified Friday's offensive saying the Tigers had attacked their frontline positions in Batticaloa and in the besieged army-held northern Jaffna peninsula, which is cut off from the rest of the island by rebel territory.

The military said the rebels had destroyed a bridge north of Batticaloa as security forces advanced towards a village called Ponichchankeni.

"Our troops pushed past the rebel forward defence line as far as Ponichchankeni," a military spokesman said, asking not to be named. "There is artillery and mortar fire on and off," he said, adding that the military was trying to rebuild the bridge.

Across the water from the village, and a further 3 miles north lies the rebel-held town of Vakarai, where the Tigers have a large base and where thousands of displaced civilians are sheltering. International aid agencies had already pulled staff out of Vakarai because of security fears.

Officials said many Tiger casualties were lying near the forward defence line that separates rebel from government territory in Batticaloa on the east coast.