Sri Lankan rebel discovered dead

Rebel factions have been fighting in the east

Military police in Sri Lanka say a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel has been found dead in Batticaloa - some 200km east of the capital, Colombo.

A police spokesman said he appeared to have been killed by a renegade faction of the Tamil Tiger rebel movement.

There have been several similar incidents in the east since a former rebel commander, Colonel Karuna, broke ranks with the main leadership.

Police say the dead man was found a day after a gun battle in the same region.

Hotbed of violence

They say that the clash also left four policemen injured.

A note attached to the body of the slain man - who was found gagged and bound - carried a warning to the Tamil Tiger leadership, the army said.

Correspondents say that Sri Lanka's east has been a hotbed of violence since Col Karuna led an unprecedented split in rebel ranks.

That led to fighting within the rebel movement, and put the island's three-year-old truce in jeopardy.

Police blamed Col Karuna's faction for the attack. They say that initial investigations revealed that the victim, Manoj Kumar, was a member of the rebels' sea tiger unit, which has ordered suicide attacks on Sri Lanka's navy.

Factional fighting

Since Col Karuna split from the northern-based leadership of the Tamil Tigers in March, 2004, there have been frequent inter-rebel clashes.

The Tamil Tigers accuse the government of backing the Karuna faction - a charge the authorities deny.

Continuing violence in Sri Lanka's east comes amid deadlock in negotiations between the Tamil Tigers and the government.

Peace talks between the two sides have been suspended since April 2003.

More than 60,000 people have died since the rebels began their fight for a homeland for minority Tamils in 1983.