Fresh fighting erupts as Lanka peace bid stalls

Government forces repulsed a major Tamil separatist offensive against defence lines in Mankerni in the coastal district of Batticaloa, the defence ministry said.

However, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) denied launching any offensive and in turn accused the military of starting a fresh push into guerrilla territory.

"Sri Lankan troops are advancing into our territory and they have moved about one and a half kilometres," LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said by telephone from the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi.

He said he had no immediate details of the casualties, but added that the LTTE had already lodged protests with Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway and complained to the Scandinavian truce monitors.

"Our defence council is going to take a decision on this situation," he said.

The defence ministry said ground forces in the northern peninsula of Jaffna had also on Friday destroyed a rebel fuel depot located at a small islet off the northern mainland.

The ministry said fighting in the eastern region was sparked by the Tigers.

"We have recovered the bodies of 22 Tiger cadres and they may have suffered more casualties," a military official in the east said by telephone. "We have about five soldiers seriously wounded."

The flare-up came a day after Norway's peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, left the island after failing to seal an agreement on a venue to resume peace negotiations between the two sides.

However, the government did announce it was "accommodating" the LTTE to advance the suggested date for talks to October 28.

Israeli-built Kfir jets hit suspected Tiger locations at Kathiraveli, just north of the Mankerni army defences in the Batticaloa district, on Thursday night, the defence ministry said.

The LTTE had moved long-range artillery away from the neighbouring Trincomalee district following a major military offensive there last month and was now targeting army positions in Batticaloa, it said.

The government's top official coordinating with Norway, Palitha Kohona, said he expected the Norwegians to return shortly to carry to the Tigers the government's message of agreeing to talks on October 28.

The Norwegians were expected to try to finalise a venue after Colombo called for talks in Switzerland while the guerrillas demanded Oslo.

Sri Lanka's ruling party allies have accused Norway of siding with the Tigers and opposed any discussions in Oslo, demanding a "neutral" venue.

Even if the two sides agree on a date and a location, there are no guarantees that the talks will take off.