Mines found in Sri Lanka ahead of talks

Apr.15 (AFP) - Sri Lankan troops arrested a man trying to plant two Claymore mines near a military checkpoint Saturday as peace broker Norway announced a five day delay for truce talks. The mines were found along the main highway in the north of the island at Omanthai, a military official said. The arrest came as Norway said ceasefire talks between Colombo and Tamil Tiger rebels would be held in Switzerland from April 24, and would be limited to two days instead of the originally planned three.

Meanwhile, the death toll in fresh violence in the northeastern port of Trincomalee rose to three with the discovery of another corpse on Friday night, local officials said.

The fresh violence had been sparked by the killing of a motorist, and police introduced a night curfew despite celebrations of the traditional new year shared by both the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, an official said.

The LTTE and its allies have accused the military of carrying out attacks in the past few days that have left dead at least five people known to be sympathetic to the guerrillas or Tiger activists.

A total of 46 people, mostly security personnel, have been killed in mine attacks in the past week.

-Amal Jayasinghe: win98win@gmail.com