Sri Lanka troops on alert after protester killed by army gunfire

Government soldiers were on alert in a Tamil village in northern Sri Lanka - on Saturday, a day after troops fired on villagers protesting the alleged rape of a girl by a soldier, killing one person and injuring two others, a military spokesman said.

The violence took place in Puttur East village on the Jaffna Peninsula, the traditional homeland of Sri Lanka - 's Tamil minority, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, Colombo.

``The situation is still tense but unlike yesterday there are no violent activities,'' military spokesman Brig. Nalin Witharanage said Saturday. ``There are troops on standby to move in when there is a requirement.''

Friday's protest occurred after residents accused a soldier of trying to rape a 16-year-old girl in the village.

The dead villager was identified as 20-year-old Tharmaraja Nirojan, a farmer.

Witharanage said soldiers and police were forced to open fire in self defense when suspected rebels among the protesters threw six hand grenades into their camp, of which three exploded, injuring one soldier.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels began fighting the government in 1983 to create a separate country for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination.

About 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before a Norway-brokered truce was signed in February 2002. The uneasy truce has held even though peace talks broke down in 2003 over the rebels' demand for greater autonomy in the north and east.

The rebels have a heavy presence in Jaffna.

Scores of people have been killed in scattered outbreaks of violence since the cease-fire, with tensions escalating after a rebel leader and about 6,000 of his followers split away from the Tigers' main faction in March 2004.

The government and Tigers blame each other for the violence, with the Tigers accusing the military of aiding the breakaway rebels, a charge the government denies.