JAFFNA: Standing amid the war-ravaged buildings of Sri Lanka’s government-held Jaffna enclave, soldiers like 26-year-old Saman say a string of attacks blamed on Tamil rebels is straining their patience — and a 2002 ceasefire.

Violence this month has been the worst since the truce halted two decades of civil war, sparking widespread fear of a resumption of hostilities. Nordic truce monitors say violence is not yet out of control, but restraint is vital.

“The last two to three years were so peaceful,” said Saman, gripping his assault rifle as he patrolled past a school in downtown Jaffna, a northern town where many buildings still lie crumbled in ruins from war-time shelling.

Fourteen soldiers were killed in attacks on Sunday and Tuesday — the deadliest since the truce. On Wednesday, a grenade attack blamed by the army on the rebels killed a civilian and wounded seven others just south of rebel territory in north-central Sri Lanka.

“Tamil people were able to lead normal lives,” Saman said. “But today there is tension. For how long can we show patience? Once we lose our patience there will be problems.”

Saman is a Sinhalese — the majority community in Sri Lanka. Tamils, who make up about 18 per cent of the 19.5 million people, live mostly on the island’s north and east and complain of discrimination.

The Tamil Tiger rebels have been fighting for two decades for an independent state.

After a mine went off near an army patrol on Tuesday, killing seven soldiers, local residents said angry troops smashed up some shops near the site. Analysts say the rebels may be hoping an army reaction — or over-reaction — might kill civilians and tip the balance of world opinion in their favour.

“At some point the army is going to react and then the LTTE will retaliate,” said Iqbal Athas, an analyst for Jane’s Defence Weekly. “They have set in motion a process. At some point the bubble is bound to burst and then we do not know what will happen.”

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) deny any involvement in violence in Jaffna, but analysts and diplomats say no one else had the capability to mount the two claymore blasts.

The attacks with the mines — blocks of plastic explosive at the end of a trip-wire or control line that send ball bearings and metal flying out towards their target — sent the stock market plunging on fears of a return to war.

“This is the beginning of the next war,” said shopkeeper S. Sasikanthan, a Tamil in Jaffna. “I am reminded of the mid-eighties and mid-nineties.”

New President Mahinda Rajapakse on Wednesday asked Norway to stay on as peace mediator in Sri Lanka. Some analysts had thought Rajapakse — seen by many as a hardliner because of his alliances to Buddhist and Marxist parties who oppose any concession to the rebels — might kick the Norwegians out, accusing them of being too soft on the Tigers.

Analysts say that without a rebel boycott during the November election that bought Rajapakse to power, he would probably have lost to his more conciliatory rival — a sign, some fear, that the rebels are unhappy with the peace process.

Truce monitors say low-level talks between army and LTTE commanders in the no-man’s land between government-held Jaffna and Tiger territory scheduled for Monday were cancelled at the last minute on orders from Colombo.

Hagrup Haukland, Norwegian head of the unarmed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, said in a statement the monitors welcomed the army’s restraint so far but said it was urgent the two parties reopen direct contact.

“The attackers must be apprehended immediately,” he said, although did not directly blame the Tigers. “The LTTE must use their influence on the Tamil people to calm down the situation. The attacks that have taken place over the last few days must stop immediately if the peace process is to move forward.”—Reuters