Fierce clashes in Jaffna

President Kumaratunga led the mourning

Government and rebel forces in Sri Lanka say there has been a fresh outbreak of heavy fighting in the northern Jaffna peninsula.

In the capital Colombo, tight security was imposed for the state funeral of the cabinet minister, CV Gooneratne, who was killed by a suicide bomber on Wednesday.

The Tamil Tiger separatist rebels have been widely blamed for the attack, in which 23 people died.

Tight security in Colombo

Police marksmen were stationed along the funeral route and army patrols were stepped up.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga led thousands of mourners who filed past Mr Gooneratne's coffin at the national parliament. Mr Gooneratne's wife, who was with him, died of her injuries later.

In a separate development, the Tamil Tigers appealed to international relief agencies to arrange a temporary ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped by the latest fighting, the fiercest reported for two weeks.

Civilians killed and injured

In their account of Friday's exchanges, the Tigers claimed that they repulsed an attempt by government forces to overrun their defences in the Sarasalai area of the peninsula, east of Jaffna town.

They said that six civilians were killed and scores wounded in the assault, but made no mention of their own casualties.

For its part, the government says that a terrorist stronghold was successfully destroyed and several rebels killed.

But it acknowledged that 25 of its soldiers were killed, and 50 were wounded in the operation.

Last respects

The security forces were on maximum alert in Colombo, which was festooned with white flags - the traditional symbol of mourning - as large crowds turned out to pay their respects to Mr Gooneratne.

Grieving for the 23 victims of the bomb attack

There were nearly two hours of orations for the dead minister. A message from Pope John Paul II was read out - Mr Gooneratne was a Roman Catholic - in which he condemned the assassination and hoped that the conflict in Sri Lanka would soon be over.

President Kumaratunga, who herself narrowly escaped assassination by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in December, arrived by helicopter for the funeral.

K Balapatabandi, secretary to President Kumaratunga, said the president felt she had lost one of her most loyal supporters.

'No strategy change'

But Mr Balapatabandi said the assassination would not affect the government's two-pronged approach to the Tamil question - pursuing the war against the Tamil Tigers while seeking a political solution through negotiations.

Police investigating the attack are reported to have detained 60 people for questioning, including students, businessmen and 15 residents of the Ratmalana suburb close to where the bomb exploded.

On Thursday, parliament broadened the powers of the police and the army to detain people and seize property.

On the diplomatic front, Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is coming for a two-day visit to Colombo on Sunday.

He will offer Indian assistance towards a peaceful solution to the conflict, but officials are cautioning against speculation that the visit heralds any particular breakthrough.