The public life in Sri Lanka's eastern district of Batticaloa was curtailed Friday due to a protest called by students with apparent backing of the Tamil Tiger rebels, police said.

The protest was largely held in the Tamil areas of the district while in the Muslim dominated area the life was by and large normal.

Maxi Procter, the Batticaloa police chief, said that public transport was hampered while some traders had closed businesses.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) allied students had called the protest against alleged abduction of students by paramilitary groups operating with the assistance of the government troops.

Two Tamil students abducted on Tuesday had returned a day later but who abducted them remains a mystery.

The military accused the LTTE of being responsible and the Tigers counter accused paramilitary groups of responsibility.

The police however said despite the protest shops remained open in the Muslim dominated areas of Kathankudy and Eravur in the district.

Residents said the police and the army had persuaded the traders who had closed shops to open their businesses to bring about normalcy in Batticaloa.

Some 200 students sat on the road near university at Vandarumulai, police added.

The issue of alleged paramilitary action was the subject of the direct talks between the government and the rebels in Geneva last month.

Source: Xinhua