Internecine killings continue between Sri Lanka's Tamil rebel rivals

Sri Lanka's eastern region continues to be plagued by internecine clashes between the rival groups of Tamil Tiger rebels.

In the latest killing Thursday morning, a supporter of the renegade eastern commander known as "Karuna" was killed at Welioya in the north-eastern border, defense officials said.

It came close on the heels of a similar killing Tuesday of another Karuna loyalist in the eastern district of Batticaloa.

Karuna, once the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) powerful eastern commander, broke ranks with the mainstream group led by the reclusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in March.

Karuna's whereabouts is not known since April after his fighting squad was crushed by the Prabhakaran faction one month later and the Tigers have been accusing the government troops of colluding with the renegade commander.

Two weeks ago, an eight-member gang of Karuna loyalists were massacred at a suburb of Colombo followed by last Saturday's gunning down of a key military informant who had links with the Karuna, also in Colombo.

The government has denied the rebel accusations of propping up Karuna but the bickering over the issue has hampered efforts to revive the peace talks brokered by the Norwegian facilitators.

The clashes have also upset the peaceful calm prevailed in this island nation since February 2002 when the LTTE and the government entered the ongoing ceasefire.

The Norwegian peace facilitators have expressed gloom over the deteriorating security situation and hinted that the country appears to be back on the road to war.

The government dismissed fears and said that as both sides are committed to reviving the stalled peace process, the clashes would not resume in the near future.

Following the spate of killings, the government has tightened security in Colombo with roadblocks erected and check of vehicles restored.