COLOMBO, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Sri Lanka's eastern area was the scene of more killings Saturday in the internecine clashes betweenTamil Tiger rebel rival factions with two more deaths, defense officials said.

    A man named Jude, an area leader belonging to the mainstream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, was gunned down inbroad daylight in the main bus stand at eastern town of Akkaraipattu around 11:00 a.m. local time.

    His assassin, a suspected member loyal to the LTTE's renegade eastern commander known as Karuna, was shot dead on the spot by government Special Task Force soldiers, witnesses were quoted by the police as saying.

    Internecine clashes between rival factions of Tamil rebels havehampered the government efforts to revive the stalled peace negotiations on hold since April last year.

    Karuna broke ranks with the mainstream rebel group in March this year, which has caused an escalation of violence in the east of the country.

    The LTTE rebels have accused the government of colluding with Karuna to fight against them but the accusation was vehemently denied by the government. Enditem