Solheim on Sunday visited Muslim refugees displaced by Sri Lanka's 19-year civil war, which killed more than 65,000 people. He was scheduled to travel to the restive eastern town of Batticaloa on Tuesday for talks with the Sri Lankan military, the Tigers and European cease-fire monitors, said Tom Knappskog, a Norwegian spokesman.
Norway has worked hard to secure a deal between the government and guerrillas to ensure that foreign aid reaches rebel-held northeastern areas ravaged by the Indian Ocean disaster, which killed more than 31,000 people in Sri Lanka.
Officials involved in the peace process said the parties were expected to move closer to an agreement, but it was unlikely to be finalized during Solheim's four-day visit.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said last week the proposed joint mechanism to distribute aid would be the foundation of a final solution of the civil war. If a deal is reached between the two sides, it would be the first major collaboration since peace talks collapsed in April 2003.
Sri Lanka's eastern region has been engulfed in violence recently that has left dozens dead. The latest incident was the killing of a government official on Friday by suspected guerrillas. Truce monitors have warned that the violence could plunge the island back into war.
The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to carve out an independent homeland in the Tamil-majority north and east. A Norway-brokered cease-fire took hold in 2002, but subsequent peace talks broke down a year later.
Solheim has played a pivotal role since 1998 in attempting to end Sri Lanka's conflict. However, efforts to revive the stalled peace talks have so far failed.
Khalid
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