UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon condemned on Tuesday an attack by separatist rebels in Sri Lanka, and urged both sides in the conflict to halt the bloodshed and resume talks.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban said that the attack was in total disregard for the lives of civilians, humanitarian workers, government officials, and the international community.

He urges the parties to the conflict to end the destructive spiral of violence and called on them to make every effort to return to the peace process as soon as possible.

The Italian ambassador to Sri Lanka and 10 others were injured on Tuesday morning in Sri Lanka's eastern Batticaola district as two government helicopters came under attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels.

Source: Xinhua