Tigers to push for opening key road link in talks

The closure of the A-9 highway to the Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula by the government in August after a surge in fighting between the rebels and government forces has led to hardship among many minority Tamils living in the area.

"The opening of the A-9 is the main thing under the humanitarian issue," rebel media coordinator Daya Master told Reuters by phone from Tiger-held Kilinochchi in the north.

"If they reject or don't open the A-9, (there is) no chance to continue the talks."

But a government official said the highway issue was not yet fixed as part of the talks.

"We can't discuss everything in two days," the official, who asked not to be quoted by name, told Reuters from Geneva.

"The agenda for the talks has not been fixed," he said, adding the government negotiating team had yet to discuss the agenda with the Norwegian facilitators.

About 1,000 people, many of them civilians, have died in a surge in fighting since July. It is the worst violence since a 2002 truce and many thousands of people have been displaced.

In sporadic attacks since Thursday, two soldiers were wounded in a claymore mine blast in the northern Vavuniya area.

In North Central province, an improvised bomb exploded near a civilian bus but there were no casualties, the military said.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch urged both sides to protect civilians and provide designated conflict-free sanctuaries.

The government says it was forced to shut the highway because of rebel attacks. Colombo supplies the Jaffna region regularly by ship or aircraft.

But local residents, Tamil political groups and civil society organisations complain of widespread food shortages and a possible humanitarian crisis due to the closure.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) spokesman was not upbeat about the Geneva talks.

"Our side says we are going to discuss the humanitarian issues. The government says the political issues. So far no agenda ... Let's wait and see," Master said.

More than 65,000 people have been killed since 1983 in the ethnic conflict.

The LTTE is fighting for an independent homeland for the Tamils, many of whom complain of discrimination by the Sinhalese political class and the government.