Tamil Tiger rebels today announced they may start using their own armed escorts for guerrillas travelling through government-held areas, defying Sri Lanka’s three-year-old ceasefire and pushing it to the brink of collapse.

Sri Lankan security forces went on red alert today, military officials said, securing a supply corridor into the restive east following a surge in attacks blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels that have endangered the country’s shaky cease-fire.

Tamil Tigers today said they were losing patience with the Sri Lanka government and could be forced to resume their bloody civil war following the killing of two of the rebel group’s senior members in an attack they blame on military intelligence agents.

An intercity passenger train collided with a bus in north-western Sri Lanka today, killing at least 50 people and injuring 40 others, police said.

The Sri Lankan military told residents of coastal areas not panic today after neighbouring India issued a fresh tsunami alert, but the government advised them to move to higher ground as a precaution.