THE shaky truce in Sri Lanka was shattered yesterday when a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up inside a police station in the heart of the capital, killing four officers.

The attack sent shockwaves through Colombo, which has enjoyed peace and security in the two years since the Government signed a ceasefire deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an attempt to bring an end to two decades of civil war.

The woman detonated the bomb while being searched at the station by police. She had been arrested after refusing to undergo a security check outside a ministry building.

Police said that the intended target was Douglas Devananda, a government minister whom the woman had been attempting to see.

Mr Devananda, an ethnic Tamil and an outspoken critic of the Tigers, is said to have been in contact with a renegade rebel commander who sparked an unprecedented split in guerrilla ranks this year.

The Government immediately blamed the attack on the Tigers, branding it a clear violation of the truce. The ceasefire has continued to hold despite deadlock in the peace process after the Tigers walked out of talks a year ago, complaining that the Government had not honoured promises of Tamil autonomy in the north and east of the country.

“It is a total violation of the ceasefire agreement. There is not doubt this is the work of the LTTE,” Cyril Herath, the Defence Secretary, said.

But he insisted that the Army would continue to observe the truce and not be drawn into renewed war. “The Sri Lankan Government has over and over again assured that despite all these provocations they will maintain the ceasefire from their side.”

The suicide attack follows weeks of growing tension between the Government and the Tigers over the military’s alleged role in the rebel split, led by the renegade commander Colonel Karuna, who disappeared in April after his rebellion was crushed. The Government admitted some army elements may have helped him.

The Tigers increased the rhetoric on Monday when they accused the military of collusion in attacks on their fighters as they were celebrating “Black Tiger Day”, their annual commemoration of suicide bombers. More than 240 fighters have died in such a way since 1987.

One Tiger fighter was killed and three others were wounded when gunmen attacked them in the east of the country, the area formerly controlled by Colonel Karuna.

In a statement on their un-official website, the Tigers blamed the military for the attacks, saying that they were “gross violations of a ceasefire”. The statement said: “If war is thrust on us, we are prepared to respond.”

Analysts said the attack was the strongest warning yet to the Government and the army that the Tigers would not tolerate any further meddling with their movement. The Tigers refuse to return to peace talks until the military breaks off ties with Colonel Karuna.

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