COLOMBO, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Overnight clashes
continued in Sri Lanka's north and east as special Japanese peace envoy Yasushi
Akashi is due in the island on Sunday, defense officials said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels
killed two soldiers and injured 11 others in continued barrage of artillery and
mortar fire in the military forward defense lines in the northern Jaffna
peninsula's Muhamalai Saturday night, officials said.
Also in the Northern Province, a military road patrol
in Vavuniya was attacked but no casualties were reported.
In the eastern Ampara district's Bakkiella area, two
policemen suffered injuries when the rebels attacked them.
The rebels also fired mortars at the Vavunathivu
military camp in the eastern Batticaloa district.
All these attacks came to be reported as Akashi was
due to arrive here Sunday on his 13th visit to the island since October 2003.
He is expected to meet with both the government and
the rebels and seek a guarantee from the LTTE that it would attend talks with
the government on Oct. 28 and 29 in Switzerland.
The rebel participation at talks has been thrown into
uncertainty following last Wednesday's military offensive in the northern Jaffna
peninsula.
The rebels accused the Army of advancing into their
territory in a new military offensive. However the government stressed that
action was only retaliatory.
Over 130 soldiers were killed and more than 400 were
injured in the clash which the analysts have termed a reversal for the Army
after its series of victories against the rebels since late July.
The rebel sources say the LTTE decision to attend
talks would be conveyed to the Norwegian special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer on Oct.
19.
The Norwegian envoy is also due to return to the
island next week to make a renewed effort to ensure face to face talks.
The international community has brought pressure on
both sides to return to the negotiating table ending violence that had cost over
2,000 lives and displaced more than 2,000 civilians since the end of 2005.
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