The Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) comprising Scandinavians observing a truce between government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the navy had acted within the law in the June 14 incident.

The SLMM also rejected LTTE allegations that the Sri Lankan navy had arrested the 12 Tiger crewmen aboard the vessel, which the navy said was sunk within Sri Lankan waters. The monitors did not say what happened to them.

"The Sri Lankan navy (SLN) had the right to inspect the LTTE tanker. Hence, the SLMM does not consider that SLN violated the ceasefire agreement by intercepting the LTTE tanker.

"The SLMM concludes that LTTE violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of December 10, 1982, by not flying an appropriate flag and official, visible identification," the SLMM said in a four-page statement.

It, however, blamed both parties for not informing the SLMM on time to prevent an escalation of the incident, which came as peace talks between the government and the LTTE remained deadlocked.

WAR.WIRE