EU pushes for end to fighting in Lanka

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (3R) talks with family members while paying his respects at a funeral of a soldier in Anamaduwa yesterday after the soldier's death in recent fighting against LTTE rebels. The soldier was among 130 killed during a fierce fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's north

Finland, speaking as holder of the rotating presidency of the European political bloc, said it "urges both sides to cease all hostilities immediately and create an environment for constructive discussion".

The EU presidency "is concerned that the recent escalation of violence can endanger the positive step taken by the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to resume peace talks in Switzerland" due on October 28 and 29, the Finnish statement said.

Sri Lankan jets bombed territory controlled by the Tigers on Friday, on the third day of an offensive provoked by a flare-up of violence in which 130 government troops were killed and hundreds wounded in fighting with rebels.

The EU presidency stressed its support for mediation efforts by Norway, which has been working to restore a 2002 ceasefire and end spiralling violence that has claimed more than 2,200 lives since December, according to an official tally.

More than 60,000 people have been killed overall in three decades of conflict as the Tigers have fought for an independent Tamil homeland on the Sinhalese-majority island.

The Finnish EU presidency added that it was "deeply concerned about the increasing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law" in the Sri Lankan fighting.

"The presidency urges the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to ensure that humanitarian aid deliveries be granted free access to conflict-affected areas and that the security of humanitarian workers will be guaranteed."

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan army jets dropped 48 bombs on a village in Tamil Tiger-controlled territory on Friday, a pro-rebel website said, amid ongoing violence in the troubled northeast.

The attack on Muttayankattu village in Mullaitivu district killed 10 cows and devastated a large swath of farmland, the TamilNet website said, adding the jets carried out six bombing raids over a two-hour period Friday morning.

It was one of the biggest bombing raids to hit the region, TamilNet said, and followed a flare-up in violence that saw the government suffer record losses with 130 troops killed in clashes earlier in the week.

The fighting has cast doubt over peace talks scheduled for later this month.

But despite the continued violence, diplomats said Norway, the top peace broker in Sri Lanka, was planning to dispatch special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer Tuesday to work out details for the peace talks set for October 28 and 29.

Norway has been working to restore the 2002 ceasefire and end spiralling violence, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives since December, according to an official tally.