Sri Lanka troops 'ready to fight'

Recent attacks have been blamed on the rebels

Sri Lanka's military is ready for battle with the Tamil Tigers although it does not expect a return to full-scale war, a top official says.

Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Daya Sandagiri says his troops are on alert but will not break the ceasefire.

Fears of the three-year-old truce breaking has increased after the rebels were blamed for two mine attacks in which 14 soldiers died.

The Tamil Tigers have denied having anything to do with the killings.

"Civilian unrest and accelerating violence is due to intensified military violence against the people and sabotage activities of armed groups that work alongside the... military," rebel political head SP Thamilselvan is quoted as saying by Reuters.

'Ready'

Despite the increased violence, Admiral Sandagiri said the government was keen on dialogue.

We are prepared. We have the superior position. There is no doubt about it Admiral Daya Sandagiri

"If we have to decide between maintaining the ceasefire and going into an offensive, we are certainly not thinking of an offensive at the moment," he told journalists in Colombo.

But he added that they were ready to meet any threat.

"We are prepared. We have the superior position. There is no doubt about it."

Tension

Tension between the two sides has increased since Mahinda Rajapakse was elected president of Sri Lanka having taken a hard line against the Tigers during his campaign.

Mr Rajapakse has called for a revamp of the peace process, including a renegotiation of the February 2002 truce - issues that he had raised during his campaign.

However, Mr Thamilselvan said on Friday that the Tigers were not in favour of reviewing the ceasefire.

On Wednesday Mr Rajapakse asked Norway to continue mediating in the peace process despite an election vow to review Oslo's role.

Some of Mr Rajapakse's key coalition allies have called for Norway to be relieved of the role.

Norway reacted positively to the development. The Tamil Tigers also said they were happy to back Norway as a peace facilitator.