UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday called for instant resumption of peace process in Sri Lanka.

In a statement released by his spokesman, Annan said he is increasingly disturbed by the mounting loss of life in Sri Lanka's long-standing conflict.

He deplored the many civilian casualties caused by the ongoing hostilities between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The secretary-general emphasized the urgent need to bring an end to the spiral of violence, adding "the bloodshed is making it ever more difficult to heal the deep divisions in the country."

He thus called on the parties to make every effort to return to the peace process as soon as possible.

The situation in Sri Lanka has been deteriorating during the past days. Nadaraja Raviraj, a member of the Tamil National Alliance, was assassinated in the Sri Lankan capital Friday, while the navy said it killed six rebels in an attack on Tamil Tiger boats.

However, rebels claimed a day earlier that they killed 25 Sri Lanka sailors and captured four in a clash in northern waters.

Source: Xinhua