Sri Lanka's military fought mortar and artillery battles with Tamil Tigers in the island's north and east today as the rebels played down hopes for peace talks due later this month.
The military said the Tigers had attacked army positions in the restive eastern district of Batticaloa and along the frontline that separates the besieged army-held northern Jaffna peninsula from rebel territory.
The political-wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), SP Thamilselvan, said the rebels expected little to come out of talks planned in late October, and warned violence would spread across the island if attacks by the military continued.
"Although we do not hold high hopes, we are ready to respect the call [for talks] and give it a chance," Thamilselvan said.
But he warned: "As far as we are concerned, when our homeland is crushed, and our people's habitats are destroyed, this war will definitely spread throughout the island."
The rebels have threatened to withdraw from the truce completely if attacks by the military continue; the government says it reserves the right to retaliate if the Tigers attack security forces.
The government says the talks will take place in Geneva at the end of this month. The Tigers wanted to go Oslo and have not yet said whether they agree on the venue.
Each side accuses the other of trying to rekindle a two-decade conflict that has killed more than 65,000 people since 1983, and Nordic truce monitors see little will from either side to halt the violence.
Analysts suspect the Tigers have agreed to talks to buy time to regroup after a series of military defeats and fierce aerial bombing, artillery and rocket fire by the security forces.