Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks with Norwegian peace facilitators, the first since Colombo pulled out of a tattered truce in January while 26 more Tamil Tigers were killed in ground fighting across Lanka's north, his office said yesterday.
Rajapakse and Norway's senior peace envoy Erik Solheim discussed the military drive to dismantle the Tamil Tigers' last bastion in the north.
The talks, which took place Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, centred on the need for sustainable peace, said a statement from the president's office.
Having wrestled the east from the Tigers in July 2007, Sri Lanka pulled out of the six-year Norwegian-brokered truce in January and has since poured in a record 1.5 billion dollars into this year's war efforts.
Security forces say they are now on the outskirts of Kilinochchi town, the political capital of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
During the talks, Rajapakse accused the rebels of using civilians as human shields in the face of advancing troops, his office said.
The LTTE, which has been fighting since 1972 for autonomy in the north and east for minority Tamils, did not comment on Rajapakse's remarks.
There was no immediate comment from the Norwegian government on the bilateral discussions.
Some 26 Tamil Tigers were killed in ground fighting across Sri Lanka's north, where troops are trying to wrest control of the rebel capital of Kilinochchi, the defence ministry said yesterday.
The military reported one soldier was injured during Monday's clashes across the embattled regions of Weli Oya, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya.
The military says they have killed 6,846 rebels since January, while 669 government soldiers have died during the same period.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did not comment on the military statement and casualty claims cannot be verified since the military blocks independent journalists from travelling to the war zones.
Sri Lankan fighter jets were also active around the Kilinochchi area on Tuesday, giving air cover to troops advancing towards the coastal town and the key rebel base of Mullaittivu.
President Mahinda Rajapakse's government hopes to dismantle the LTTE's stronghold in the north after winning back the east in July 2007.
Rajapakse told Sri Lankans living in New York on Monday that security forces were close to capturing Kilinochchi town.
"It's a matter of time before this will be liberated," Rajapakse was quoted as saying by state media.