Don't provoke us into a war, LTTE warns Lanka Govt.

The Sri Lankan government is provoking Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels into declaring a war that will prove to be disastrous for the island nation, a top rebel leader has warned.

According to LTTE spokesperson, Rasiah Ilanthiriyan, the rebels would extend their battle across the island unless the government scaled down attacks.

"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is ready for war or peace and is leaving the choice in the hands of the Sri Lankan government," he said.

"If the Sri Lankan government wants a war, they will have it everywhere in the island," Ilanthiriyan said by satellite telephone from the rebel–held north. "If they want peace, Tamil people must feel they have peace."

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Navy has claimed that it had killed up to 35 Tigers and destroyed two rebel boats during a heavy sea battle off the northern peninsula of Jaffna recently.

The LTTE has rejected the claim, saying no fighters or boats were lost in the clash, the latest in a series of deadly exchanges in the waters off the island. "There was no loss of men or material on either side," Ilanthiriyan said, adding, "Our boats were on a routine exercise when the Sri Lankan Navy tried to interfere with them."

Reports of the latest sea battles came as visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, urged both sides to "lower the temperatures" and enter talks.

The USA has made it clear that it strongly supported peace talks between Sri Lanka and Tamil Tigers as there was no military solution to the conflict in the island nation, but asserted it would not deal with the rebels who use "reprehensible and bloody" tactics to kill innocent people. "We... believe that there is no military solution for this kind, and we are strong supporters of negotiations," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns said.