Two more killings have been reported from Sri Lanka's troubled north and east provinces, a defense official here said Thursday.

A government official was gunned down in the northern town of Vavuniya, 255 Kms from the capital Colombo, around 5:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) Wednesday by suspected members of the Eelam People 's Democratic Party (EPDP).

In the second killing a Muslim civilian was killed when unknown gunmen opened fire at his motor cycle at Akkaraipattu, 380 Kms east of here, around 8:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) Wednesday.

The motive for the killing or who was responsible was not known, police said.

Continued murders of civilians, government troops and state officials in the two provinces have jeopardized the ongoing ceasefire between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the government.

The Norwegian peace facilitators appointed a special representative to try and get the government and the Tiger rebels to start talks aimed at reviewing the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.

Trond Furuhovde, a retired Norwegian Major General, ended his visit here Wednesday having concluded talks with the two sides.

The killings in the north and east were termed by him as " strategic subversive warfare" for which both sides are responsible.

Source: Xinhua