Call to disarm Sri Lanka militias

Balasingham (left) says the government needs to do more

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have urged the government to disarm paramilitary groups allegedly working with the army, a Tamil website reports.

Rebel negotiator Anton Balasingham made the demand during a meeting with a Norwegian peace envoy in London.

The Tigers blame paramilitary groups for the killing of a top rebel leader and five others last week.

The government has rejected the accusation and blamed a rival faction of the Tigers for the attack.

"[The government] should disarm the paramilitary forces functioning with the army or integrate them into its armed forces and station them outside the north-east [conflict zone]," the TamilNet website quoted Mr Balasingham as saying.

"The Sri Lankan government needs to contribute to a conducive and congenial climate for the resumption of peace talks," he added.

Mr Balasingham also asked the government to end its opposition to setting up a joint mechanism to disburse tsunami relief in the Tamil-dominated north and east.

Rebel killed

E Kaushalyan, who was shot dead near Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka on 7 February, is the most senior Tiger killed since a ceasefire began in February 2002.

The killing was condemned by both the rebels and the government, who said it raised fears of a return to civil war.

For their part, the Tigers blamed the government and said it represented a serious setback to an already fragile peace process.

More than 60,000 people have died in violence in Sri Lanka since the rebels began their fight for a homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.