Thousands of armed police and paramilitary forces fanned out across Sri Lanka yesterday as a tight security blanket was thrown over the war-torn country to ward off further violence ahead of parliamentary elections.
In the northern Jaffna peninsula the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a ground attack on government troops in a bid to capture fresh territory, but military officials said they beat them back.
Officials said some 40,000 security personnel will guard polling booths in today's election in which a 17-year-old ethnic war between the island's government and the LTTE guerrillas is the main issue.
Voters will choose between the competing strategies of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's ruling People's Alliance (PA) and the main opposition United National Party to end the conflict which has claimed thousands of lives on both sides.
A close contest between the two parties is expected. At least 40 people were killed in suicide bombings and 10 in clashes between political groups during the bloody month-long election campaign that ended on Saturday.
The military is bracing itself for more LTTE attacks on voting day as the rebels seek to prevent the PA from returning to power.
The PA says it will defeat the LTTE militarily while giving minority Tamils more autonomy.