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Norway makes fresh bid as Lankan Muslims flee troubled northeast town

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, Aug 4, IRNA
SLanka-Norway-Peace
Peace broker Norway opened talks with Sri Lankan leaders in a bid to pull the island from the brink of war as thousands of locals began fleeing a Muslim town in the northeast after fresh clashes between troops and Tamil Tigers left five civilians and two soldiers dead.

Oslo's special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer who arrived in Colombo Friday, opened talks with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and was also scheduled to meet Foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera on defusing tension, Doordarshan News said here.

Hanssen-Bauer will travel to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi on Saturday and spend the weekend in talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on saving the truce and the peace process.

Even as the envoy was in talks in Colombo, thousands of Muslims in the town of Muttur were on the run after five civilians were killed in a shell attack on a school.

On Thursday, a total of 21 people, including 17 civilians, were killed in artillery attacks.

Officials said two soldiers were also killed in Friday's fighting while 20 troops wounded in the bomb attacks were to be evacuated.

"We think about 30,000 people out of the 60,000 people in Muttur electorate have been affected by the fighting and they want to leave," Muslim Minister A H M Azwer said.

Norway offered 1.5 million dollars in aid to help Muslim refugees while UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on both sides to end fighting, spare civilians and resume talks.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had failed to get relief to thousands of civilians trapped by fierce fighting.

The fighting erupted 10 days ago when the government moved to lift a water blockade imposed by the Tigers depriving water to some 15,000 families in the Trincomalee district.

At least 161 people have died in the fighting that began on Wednesday last week.

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