The Sri Lankan government Tuesday accused the international truce monitoring group of staging a pull- out from the northern and eastern battle zones.

Keheliya Rambukwella, the minister of Policy Planning and the government's defense spokesman said that the decision of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to pull out from operational areas was unacceptable to the government.

Rambukwella said that the SLMM monitors have come under threat from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"They told the government that they are not here to monitor claymore mine and bomb explosions and are only here to record minor offenses," Rambukwella told reporters.

The SLMM, which has been monitoring the island country's ceasefire since 2002, said earlier that it would curtail its monitoring activities for a short period as it regroups and reconsiders its operations in the wake of escalating violence between the government and the LTTE.

The monitoring group has been reduced in strength after the LTTE called for the withdrawal of monitors from European Union member states. The mission is currently confined to members from Norway and Iceland.

Analysts fear that the SLMM's regrouping in Colombo will give the government and the LTTE a chance to violate the ceasefire agreement which has already remained only on paper.

Figures from the government show that more than 3,500 people have been killed in the north and east since December 2005 with the escalation of violence between the two warring parties.

Source: Xinhua