Sri Lanka on Tuesday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of unleashing a "stealth war" after seven soldiers were blown up in a mine blast in the troubled north, bringing the death toll since the weekend to 27.
Six soldiers and one officer were riding in a military tractor-trailer near a landmark Hindu temple outside the town of Jaffna, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Colombo, when a claymore mine exploded, officials said.
It was the second major strike against government forces since Sunday, when a near-identical attack also killed seven, the military said.
"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are engaged in a stealth war against Sri Lankan security forces using the cover of the cease-fire agreement," the government said in a statement.
"It is clear to all that the LTTE, which participated in peace talks with successive governments for the past three and a half years, has not transformed from its terrorist tendencies." Three Swiss aid workers and their local driver narrowly escaped Tuesday's blast, as their car had just overtaken the military vehicle when the explosion occurred, according to a Swiss embassy spokesman in Colombo.
The upsurge in violence came as a new army chief, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, took office here Tuesday, vowing to crush terrorism.
He said the situation in the east of the island was under control, but four members of a breakaway Tiger faction were killed there Tuesday in what appeared to be an internecine clash, military officials said. Four more civilians were also killed Tuesday while three perished on Sunday.