Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said interviews for recruitment to this battalion will start tomorrow, Tuesday, and held for seven days up to April 5 at the army’s Combat Training School in Ampara.

The battalion will protect the district of Ampara which has the largest concentration of Muslims in Sri Lanka and whose residents have often been under attack from Tamil guerrillas.

The spokesman said the command structure of the battalion which is normally made up of 500 soldiers is yet to be worked out. Sri Lanka’s military does normally recruit personnel on ethnic lines – until this latest move—but the armed forces are dominated by the Sinhalese, the country’s majority community. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Mar 27 20:38:50 EST 2006

Many governments, including the US, expressed their support to the parties ahead of the talks. We are encouraged by the support of India, US and others to Norway’s involvement as facilitators. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Mar 27 11:59:51 EST 2006

The suspected rebels included two women and were arrested late Sunday in Vavuniya, the military said. T-56 rifles were found in their possession, it said in a statement.

During questioning, the suspected rebels provided information that led to the seizure of four hand grenades and ammunition that had been hidden in a house in Vavuniya, the military said.

Vavuniya, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, is the last government-held town before rebel territory.

Meanwhile, students in the northern town of Jaffna _ 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Colombo _ boycotted classes after soldiers allegedly attacked students on March 24 at the Advanced Technological Institute after they raised a rebel flag to commemorate a rebel martyr.

Under a Norway-brokered cease-fire signed in February 2002, hoisting the rebel flag in government-held areas is banned.

Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig. Sudhir Samarasinghe denied accusations that soldiers attacked students and said the flag was removed in front of Norway-led international truce monitors.

The rebels have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination.

More than 65,000 people were killed in the fighting before signing the cease-fire, which has come under increased strain in recent months from escalating violence.

Discuss this story Published: Mon Mar 27 08:40:23 EST 2006