Sri Lankan armed forces attacked Tamil rebel positions in the north of the country yesterday but said a unilateral ceasefire declaration by the separatists could be productive.
More than 75 people were killed in the heavy fighting in the Jaffna peninsula, less than a day after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) announced it would stop fighting for a month from midnight tomorrow.
The rebels said their ceasefire was aimed at pushing forward a peace process to end the ethnic war and they called for a similar move from the government.
The government's offensive appeared to be prearranged as it began less than 12 hours after the ceasefire declaration.
The Information Minister, Mr Anura Yapa, said despite caution about the motives of the LTTE, the government was "not opposed to genuine steps that are taken with the aim of finding a solution to the country's ethnic conflict.
"Looked at from this perspective, it would appear that the declaration of a ceasefire by the LTTE could be a productive exercise."
The LTTE, fighting for a separate Tamil state in the north and east since 1983, had said it would consider extending its ceasefire if its declaration received a positive reply from the government.
"If Sri Lanka responds positively by ceasing armed hostilities against our forces and takes steps to implement the Norwegian proposal of mutual confidence-building measures, the LTTE will be prepared to extend the period of peace to create cordial conditions and direct negotiations," the rebels said.
Mr Yapa said because of past truce and peace talks failures, the government was proceeding cautiously.
"Having such an attitude of caution and inquiry with regard to the ceasefire announced by the LTTE is not in any way an obstruction to taking a positive view of this decision," he said.
Thursday's LTTE declaration was the biggest breakthrough in efforts to end the war since 1995, when the last peace talks broke down. The government has said it was ready for immediate talks, but because of doubts over the sincerity of the rebels, its troops would not lay down their arms first.
The peace process began gathering momentum in late October when the LTTE leader, Mr Velupillai Prabhakaran, met a Norwegian peace envoy, and dropped previous demands for a truce and troop withdrawal.
Some of the heaviest fighting yesterday was for the strategic Navatkuli bridge, 3 km from Jaffna town, which Tamil rebels seized in May.
A military spokesman, Brig Sanath Karunaratne, said 25 soldiers had been killed and 47 wounded, while the bodies of 51 rebels had been recovered by dusk yesterday.