The Sri Lankan government denied today having agreed to hold unconditional peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, as announced by international mediators.
"The Government of Sri Lanka is highly disturbed with regard to the statement made by the Norwegian facilitator, as the government neither agreed for unconditional talks nor was consulted," it said in a statement.
The denial came a day after international mediators and donors announced in Brussels that Colombo and the rebels had agreed to hold unconditional peace talks, and suggested the negotiations should take place in Oslo in early October.
Meanwhile a grenade exploded in a busy market area in northern Sri Lanka today, injuring 15 people, police said. The explosion occurred in Vavuniya, a garrison town on the edge of territories controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels, the area's police chief Kumara Sandanayake said. Of the 15 injured, three were in critical condition.