Sri Lanka on edge over fear of more rebel violence

COLOMBO, Oct 19 (Reuters) Sri Lankan troops stepped up a vigil in cities and at key military facilities across the island today amid fears of new attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels as fresh fighting flared in the north of the country.

News of the fighting came a day after the rebels, fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1983, launched an apparent suicide mission on a naval base in the southern city of Galle, killing one sailor and losing 15 guerrillas.

''Heavy fighting between Sri Lankan Navy and Liberation Tigers was reported near the coast of Karainagar in Jaffna islets yesterday night,'' said the pro-rebel Web site www.tamilnet.com, adding that details were not yet available.

Sporadic fighting also broke out overnight in the north of the country with the army and the rebels exchanging mortar and artillery fire in the Jaffna region, scene last week of some of the worst battles since a 2002 truce.

Two soldiers were killed by a landmine planted by suspected rebels in the northern Vavuniya area today while one guerrilla was shot dead after he hurled a grenade at an army patrol elsewhere in the same region, the defence ministry said.

A civilian was killed in shelling by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) late yesterday, it added.

Police said they defused a claymore bomb planted below an electricity transformer near a school in Mahara town about 15 km northeast of the capital Colombo.

The apparent suicide mission in Galle was a new blow to peace talks between the government and the rebels due later this month.

The raid triggered minor looting in Galle, with Sinhala criminal gangs targeting shops belonging to Tamils who are a minority in the southern provinces.

US WARNING Today, life was back to normal in the tourist town, which was badly hit by the 2004 tsunami, with businesses opening and traffic plying as usual, residents said. However, there were more policemen and navy troops deployed, they added.

A US embassy advisory asked its nationals to defer travel to Galle.

''Americans should also be aware of the increased possibility of communal violence both in Galle and in other parts of the country,'' it said.

''Americans should avoid military installations, military convoys traveling on the roads, and where possible, government buildings, as they have in the past been targets for LTTE violence.'' Violence has spiralled in Sri Lanka since late July, shattering a truce brokered in 2002 and killing hundreds of people.

The government and the rebels are due to meet in Geneva on October 28 and 29 for their first peace talks since February but the meeting has been written off even before it begins because of the rising violence and deep mistrust between the two sides.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in the nearly quarter-century civil war.

Reuters PB GC1736