COLOMBO, July 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen arrived here on Sunday to make another attempt to revive the stalled peace process in the country.

    Helgesen arrived at the Colombo international airport on Sunday afternoon on a four-day visit, diplomatic sources said.

    The Norwegian peace facilitators since May have been involved in efforts to revive the stalled direct peace negotiations between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the Sri Lankan government.

    Helgesen is due to visit the rebel-held Kilinochchi town in thenorth on Tuesday before returning to the capital to hold talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

    It is expected that the ongoing strains on the ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE rebels will figure mainly in the Norwegian minister's talks with the rebels.

    The east of the country has been a hotbed of violence ever since the LTTE's renegade eastern commander known as Karuna broke ranks with the mainstream rebel faction in March.

    The LTTE has charged that the government military intelligence have been providing undercover support to the renegade rebel leader who went underground one month later when his 6,000 strong fighting squad was crushed by the mainstream rebel faction.

    The government has denied any involvement in the Karuna affair.

    Just a few hours before Helgesen's arrival in Colombo, the LTTE mainstream faction is believed to have carried out an attack on eight of the renegade commander's members, killing all of them in a Colombo suburb. Enditem