``We have received a complaint and we are now investigating,'' said Hagrup Haukland, who heads the 60-member mission, without elaborating.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam said they have submitted fresh evidence to the monitors to confirm that five members, who went missing Feb. 25, were arrested by Sri Lankan soldiers.

``Our organization has lodged a fresh complaint based on evidence through eyewitnesses,'' rebel official S. Elilan was quoted as saying in the pro-rebel Web site TamilNet.

Rebels claimed the five were arrested while traveling in a rebel-held area south of the eastern port town of Trincomalee.

Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, however, denied any arrests were made. ``This is false. We don't go the uncleared areas,'' said Samarasinghe, referring to zones controlled by the rebels.

The complaint comes after talks last month between the government and rebels in Geneva, where both sides agreed to abide by a four-year old cease-fire agreement.

The cease-fire prohibits both sides from entering each other's territory with arms.

The rebels began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.2 million Tamil minority. Norway brokered the cease-fire in 2002, ending the near two-decade civil war that left 65,000 people dead.

But recent violence that has left at least 150 dead, including 81 government security officers, has led to an increase in tension and concerns over the stability of the truce.

Both sides have agreed to meet again in Geneva on April 19-21.

Discuss this story Published: Fri Mar 3 08:53:28 EST 2006

A little over a month before the latest round of talks, violence, especially in the north east had pushed the truce to its brink. Claymore mine attacks became rampant, targeting the armed forces. The Sri Lanka Navy became one of the main targets when its craft came under repeated attacks in the north eastern and north western waters. In one of the major hits, 13 sailors died and the Israeli built Dvora attack craft, in which they were patrolling the north eastern waters off Trincomalee, was sunk on January 7, in what the Navy now suspects to be an attack launched by an LTTE suicide cadre. More... Discuss this story Published: Fri Mar 3 11:22:08 EST 2006

Police said the two men had been in prison since January 13 last year on charges of theft, and would appear in court later this month. Solicitor General C.R. de Silva decided to charge them with murder after watching a video of the incident. More...

Discuss this story Published: Fri Mar 3 10:31:57 EST 2006