Sri Lanka's bitter political rivals showed rare unity to call for urgent talks with Tamil Tiger rebels to end the latest cycle of violence that has killed at least 140 people, officials said yesterday.

Representatives of 15 parties, including the ruling coalition and the main opposition, agreed during a meeting late Thursday to support immediate negotiations with the Tigers, officials present at the meeting said.

Diplomats and officials involved in the process said that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had also confirmed that their supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran would meet with Norway's peace envoy Erik Solheim next week.

Reacting to positive signs the two sides were moving towards talks, the Colombo Stock Exchange rallied Friday while Scandinavian truce monitors resumed work they had suspended earlier this week in a troubled region.

The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) went into action again late Thursday in the northeastern port district of Trincomalee after a bomb blast there wounded 13 people, local officials said.

The SLMM on Tuesday said their first ever suspension of work in an entire district followed an escalation of violence culminating in a bomb attack against a navy bus.

The positive political developments saw the All Share Price Index move up 3.66 percent to close Friday at 1,910.47, the stock exchange said.

President Mahinda Rajapakse called Thursday's meeting of political parties as part of efforts to agree a consensus among the majority Sinhalese groups before entering into a dialogue with the LTTE.

The meeting came hours after four more people were killed and 40 wounded by bombs in the northeast in attacks blamed on the Tigers.

"All political parties attending the meeting were unanimous that peace talks should commence without further delay," spokesman Chandrapala Liyanage said. "They were keen to convey this as their common agreement."

A statement from Rajapakse's office said he would take unspecified steps to speed up talks.

"The president stated that all practical measures will be taken to commence peace talks immediately," the statement said.

"He also stated that he would consult and exchange views with these political parties and others at all stages of the peace process."

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said he backed talks and was keen for the government to resume a discussion with the Tigers as soon as possible.

"The leader (of the opposition) wants the government to get on with talks," his spokesman Saman Athaudahetti said. "He was keen not to get distracted by other issues such as the controversy over the venue."

The government and the Tigers have not been able to agree on a venue for their talks, with the guerrillas insisting on Oslo, the capital of peace broker Norway, and Colombo insisting that it be at an Asian venue.