Sri Lanka's army stepped up security in cities across the island yesterday as a Japanese peace envoy arrived to assess Asia's longest-running civil war.
Extra troops were deployed in public places including the capital Colombo, which has been rocked by several deadly blasts this month, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Bloodshed has mounted since the government decided this month to pull out of a tattered 2002 truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland.
The military said at least 74 rebels and two soldiers have been killed in fighting since Friday.
Envoy Yasushi Akashi arrived in Colombo yesterday for three days of talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and other government leaders.
Akashi will assess "the current situation of the peace process and its future," Japan's embassy said.
Japan and the island's other major donors including the US, the EU and Norway on Saturday voiced concern over Colombo's decision to scrap the truce, saying they feared it would lead to further bloodshed and stall peace efforts.
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