Tigers seek to heal rift with renegades

British and Norwegian envoys have paid visits to the plush two-storied office in this arid northern Sri Lankan town, 330km north of Colombo, since the guerrillas' unprecedented break-up.

While the diplomats' trips were scheduled before the crisis, tensions within the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) movement's leadership have topped the discussions.

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On March 3, V. Muralitharan, also known as Karuna who holds sway in the island's eastern region, announced a parting of ways with Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran after accusing him of being "undemocratic."

The division in the LTTE ranks came as the country was poised for elections on April 2, following a crisis precipitated by disagreement between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on how to carry forward the talks with the Tigers.

The "Peace Secretariat," spread over a vast landscaped area bordered with flowering shrubs and trees, began operations last year.