Tamil Tiger rebels have been urged to return to peace talks with the Sri Lankan government by the country’s Christian clergy Friday following warnings from European truce monitors that civil war may break out at any moment.

|PIC1|The clergymen also urged the rebels to end the increasing violence in the northeast of the country, which is now threatening to pull Sri Lanka back into a civil war, reported AP.

Ten bishops and pastors from the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist Churches met with S.P. Thamilselvan, political chief of the Tamil Tigers, in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi Friday.

"The bishops raised the issue of increasing violence here and the plight of the people and asked the parties to implement the ceasefire," said Rev. Roshan Sebastianpillai who took part in the meeting.

"This was a common invitation to both sides," he told AP.

The Tamil Tigers have been engaged in an ongoing war with the Sri Lankan government for over two decades for an independent state for the country’s 3.2 million ethnic Tamils, amid repeated calls from the Christian clergy for peace in the country.

The Christian clergy have been successful in gaining greater access to the rebel leadership in light of their perceived neutrality, making them a key bridge between the government and rebels before the ceasefire announced in 2002.

"Proper implementation of the cease-fire and bringing back normalcy, immediate resumption of negotiations were the request of the bishops," Thamilselvan was quoted as saying by the pro-rebel Puthinam Web site.

|QUOTE|The ceasefire has come under increasing strain, however, following threats from rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to increase the campaign of violence for independence if the government fails to address rebel grievances.

Attacks attributed to the Tamil Tigers killed 45 government soldiers in December 2005 alone, with the government saying it had killed seven guerrillas in the same month.

A top Norwegian envoy who played a key role in bringing about the February 2002 ceasefire, Erik Solheim, is expected to visit the country from 23 to 26 January in an attempt to solidify the volatile truce, following his comments of concern over the escalating violence.

Mr Solheim plans to meet with representatives from both sides of the conflict during his 3-day visit, the Norwegian Embassy announced.

|TOP|“I am deeply concerned about the recent increase in violence in Sri Lanka," Solheim said in a statement released at the end of December.

"It is urgent to get the two parties to sit down together to discuss how to ensure that the ceasefire is observed and how the peace process can be advanced," he said.

European truce monitors warned at the end of last month that civil war could break out at any moment.

"If this trend of violence is allowed to continue, war may not be far away," said Hagrup Haukland, the chief of a group of truce monitors drawn from five Nordic countries, in AP.