Sri Lanka to rebels: Talk peace or face more war

COLOMBO, Jan 22 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's government vowed today to eradicate Tamil Tiger rebels from swathes of jungle in the island's east after capturing a key stronghold, but said they could avoid more fighting if they agreed to peace talks.

Sri Lanka's government drove the Tigers from their last coastal enclave in the east on Friday -- territory which belonged to the rebels under the terms of a now tattered 2002 ceasefire -- after weeks of fierce artillery duels.

Colombo's ultimatum came hours after the military and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) clashed at sea off the island's northern tip and as troops searched for routed Tigers trying to reach camps in the eastern jungles of Toppigala.

''Toppigala is a bit of a volatile area, which runs the risk of forces being attacked from time to time, so we will have to eliminate that risk as well,'' defence spokesman and government minister Keheliya Rambukwella said in a telephone interview.

''If tomorrow the LTTE says 'we are ready to stop hostilities and get back to the negotiating table', we will stop immediately,'' he added. ''If they do not, then we'll have to liberate the Tamil civilians in the east and then call (the Tigers) for negotiations.'' He said the government was not threatening to banish the Tigers from their main northern base, which analysts say would trigger an all-out return to a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 civilians, troops and rebels since 1983.

WHAT TRUCE? Nordic truce monitors say both sides have repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement, which now holds only on paper. Evicting the Tigers from the east is one such violation.

''In the context of what they have done with the ceasefire agreement, the Sri Lankan government has a big way to go to prove their commitment to any kind of negotiated settlement,'' Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan said by telephone from the rebels' northern base of Kilinochchi.

''In the east, there is always a balance between possession of territory and fighting ability, and it may constantly change,'' he added.

Ilanthiraiyan said the Tigers had repulsed an army attack on one of their eastern jungle areas early today, while the military said it had cleared 90 landmines laid by the rebels.

The military also accused the Tigers of damaging the ruins of an historic Buddhist temple, Lanka Patuna, which sits in the captured eastern enclave spanning the districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa around 240 km northeast of Colombo.

This is believed to be the site where an Indian prince and princess landed over 1,500 years ago bearing the 'Buddha's tooth' -- a sacred relic now housed in a temple in the island's ancient hill capital of Kandy.

The coastal stretch was an important maritime supply line for the Tigers and is a major strategic loss.

Tens of thousands of refugees are now housed in rudimentary camps in both districts, many of them already displaced previously by both the war or the 2004 tsunami -- or both.

REUTERS SP HS1935