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India, Sri Lanka express concern over cease-fire violations by Tamil Tiger rebels Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Friday won India's crucial backing for an aid deal with Tamil Tiger rebels, but both sides expressed concern over cease-fire violations and the alleged acquisition of aircraft by the militants.

After meetings with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other officials, Kumaratunga thanked India for the prompt help after the devastating Dec. 26 tsunami, and briefed them on developments in the peace process with the rebels as well as work done in the tsunami-affected areas.

New Delhi announced a grant of 1 billion rupees (US$22 million; euro18 million) for Colombo's tsunami reconstruction efforts and a three-year moratorium on debt payments, according to an Indian foreign ministry statement.

One of the main purposes of Kumaratunga's visit was to get India's support for her efforts to establish a Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure, an aid coalition involving the rebels. The alliance would for the first time make the rebels a partner in distributing foreign aid, something that has been slammed by Kumaratunga's main coalition partner.

``The Prime Minister expressed understanding of and support for these ongoing efforts,'' the statement said.

On Friday, Kumaratunga also met Sonia Gandhi, head of the Congress party that leads India's ruling coalition. Gandhi's husband, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in 1991.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east of the country, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. The conflict killed nearly 65,000 people before the cease-fire, which has largely held despite sporadic violations and the breakdown in peace talks in 2003.

``In their discussions on the peace process, concern was expressed over cease-fire violations. Particular concern was expressed over the illegal acquisition of air capability,'' the joint statement said.

Sri Lankan media reports say the rebels have acquired two aircraft, but the Tigers have only admitted to having an airstrip in the rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu.

The statement added that India and Sri Lanka ``emphasized the need for the early resumption of negotiations in the peace process that will lead to a durable political solution that maintains the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.''

India and Sri Lanka have close cultural links. India's southern state of Tamil Nadu is home to 56 million ethnic Tamils, who have traditional links with Sri Lanka's minority of 3.2 million Tamils.

India was among the first countries to help Sri Lanka tackle the damage caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami which killed 31,000 people and affected 1 million others in the island nation. But residents in Tamil-majority areas controlled by the Tigers have complained that aid has been slow to reach them.

Singh ``reiterated that India remains committed to assist Sri Lanka's remarkable efforts to recover from the tragedy of the tsunami,'' the statement said.

Kumaratunga returns home Saturday.

Eds: Associated Press Writer Shimali Senanayake in Colombo, Sri Lanka contributed to this report.

Tamil-majority northeast shuts down, demanding withdrawal of Sri Lankan troops

Grenade attacks wounded at least eight people in northeastern Sri Lanka on Friday, as schools and businesses closed to demand the withdrawal of government troops from a restive city after clashes between ethnic Tamils and Sinhalese, officials and residents said.

About 2,000 extra military personnel and police were deployed in the eastern port town of Trincomalee following the last month's ethnic violence over the construction of a Buddha statue in the heart of the multi-religious town.

Trincomalee has been volatile, with many residents demanding that the security forces leave.

Six people were slightly wounded when unidentified attackers lobbed a grenade into a vegetable market near Trincomalee, about 230 kilometers (140 miles) northeast of the capital, Colombo, said police officer Neville Wijesinghe.

Separately, two suspected Tamil Tiger rebels threw a grenade at air force troops at a security checkpoint in Trincomalee, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake.

The grenade didn't explode, but the two men were shot when the air force personnel fired in self-defense, and both were hospitalized, Ratnayake said.

Also Friday, suspected Tamil Tigers hurled another grenade at an army vehicle in the same region but it exploded prematurely and caused no damage, the spokesman said.

Area residents wanted the extra security forces out.

``We only want these additional troops withdrawn as promised. They are blocking normal life,'' said lawmaker Kanagalingam Sivajilingam of the Tamil National Alliance, a political party backed by the Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lanka's government had promised to withdraw the extra security forces immediately in return for the postponement of a strike by Tamils, Sivajilingam said. There was no immediate comment from the government.

About 70 percent of Sri Lanka's 19 million people are Sinhalese Buddhists. Minority Tamils are mostly Hindu.

However, Trincomalee _ where Sri Lanka's navy has a base _ has roughly equal numbers of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.

Tamils opposed the construction of the Buddha statue in the city, and held a five-day protest strike in Trincomalee last month. Violence broke out and a grenade, thrown by an unidentified attacker, left one person dead.

The Tamil Tiger rebels began an armed insurrection in 1983, demanding a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka's northeast. More than 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before a 2002 Norway-brokered cease-fire was signed. Peace talks have been suspended since 2003 due to disagreements over power-sharing.

Tamils have longed claimed to have suffered from discrimination by the Sinhalese.