Sri Lanka leader appeals for calm

President Kumaratunga has called for restraint

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has appealed for calm in the north-east of the country as violence escalates there.

The government has accused Tamil Tiger rebels of eight bomb attacks and two shooting incidents over three days.

The Tigers in turn accuse the military of an attack on Sunday which killed three of their members and a supporter.

On Thursday troops killed a suspected rebel near Trincomalee. International observers say a 2002 truce is at risk.

Factional fighting

The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in the capital, Colombo, says a shadow war has been going on in the east since a split in the Tamil Tiger rebels in March 2004. The rebels accuse the government of supporting the breakaway group, a charge the government denies.

However, this low-level factional fighting now threatens to explode into a breakdown of the three-year ceasefire, our correspondent says.

In the past two weeks five members of the Sri Lankan security forces and at least four Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed.

The Tigers, citing security concerns, have now pulled out all their political officers from government areas.

They have issued an ultimatum - which expires on Thursday night - for the government to come up with suitable measures to guarantee the safety of rebel officials travelling through government-held areas.

Otherwise, they say, they will start using their own armed escorts, a direct violation of the ceasefire.

Senior international diplomats say there is a real danger the situation could escalate out of control.

One official said that recent violence in the eastern town of Trincomalee appeared to be co-ordinated, leading to direct confrontations between the government and the Tigers, rather than previous low-level factional fighting.

Several specific measures and systems have been put in place to arrest and remedy the situation President Kumaratunga

The army has increased its presence in the town and in an effort to halt the escalation of violence.

President Kumaratunga, has called for restraint and launched an investigation.

The stand-off comes just weeks after a joint tsunami aid-sharing deal was signed.

Donors had hoped it would bring the two sides closer together, now the fear is that the legacy of mistrust is unbridgeable, our correspondent says.