Tamil Tigers deny gearing for war

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said regional commander V. Muralitharan who led a breakaway last week was trying to discredit the main rebel group after he was dismissed by supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

"He (Karuna) is trying to justify himself," LTTE spokesman Daya Master told AFP when contacted by telephone. "There is no truth in his allegation that Prabhakaran was preparing for war."

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"Our leadership is committed to solving the problem in a peaceful way."

In an interview with AFP late Tuesday, Karuna said he broke away because he believed Prabhakaran was gearing up for war despite Norwegian-backed attempts to peacefully end a conflict that has claimed over 60,000 lives.