Colombo- A top UN official met with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday to discuss humanitarian issues related to civilians trapped in a rebel-held area in the north-eastern part of the country, officials said.

Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, met Rajapaksa as local and international concern was growing about the safety of the civilians trapped in the war zone in Mullativu, 395 kilometres north of the capital.

Details of the meeting were not available immediately.

Colombo  - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday visited the former administrative town of the Tamil separatist rebels, which is now under the control of security forces, the president's office said.

Rajapaksa was flown to Kilinochchi, 370 kilometres north of Colombo, where he met with soldiers and toured the area to see the destruction caused in the fall of the rebels' de-facto capital in January, a statement from the office said.

Colombo - Security forces in Sri Lanka have resumed military operations in the north-eastern part of the country, ending a 48-hour suspension of military operations to mark traditional New Year celebrations, a military spokesman said. The spokesman said the military will go ahead with operations aimed at rescuing some 50,000 civilians who remain trapped in Mullativu district, 395 kilometres north-east of the capital.

Colombo, Apr. 15 : Sri Lankan troops have resumed their offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in the northeast, ending a 48-hour ceasefire early Wednesday.

News agency reports quoted a military spokesman as saying that both sides have begun exchanging rocket and gunfire after midnight.

The Tamil Tiger rebels have claimed that the ceasefire called by the Sri Lankan Government was nothing but an attempt to deceive the international community.

Colombo, Apr. 14 : Sri Lanka''s Tamil Tiger rebels have said that they are ready to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with government forces.

In a statement reported by the BBC, the rebels said they were prepared to open political talks to halt decades of bloodshed.

The government announced a unilateral two-day halt to the fighting beginning Monday, to allow the civilians trapped in the conflict zone to leave.

The Tigers said the two-day truce was an attempt by the authorities to deceive the international community.

Colombo - Tamil rebels Tuesday called for an unconditional permanent ceasefire as a precondition to peace talks with the Sri Lankan government. The call from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) came as the Sri Lankan security forces maintained a two-day halt in its military operations in the north of the country coinciding with traditional New Year celebrations observed throughout the country.