SLMM says it is committed to help parties to find a negotiated solution

An international rights watchdog, meanwhile, has appealed to both parties to cease attacks on civilians.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) says it is 'alarmed' about the escalating violence in the island nation.

The Tamil Tigers are accused of killing 19 civilians and injuring 36 others in a parcel bomb attack in a Colombo suburb, Nugegoda on Wednesday.

Chronology of events

A suspected LTTE suicide bomber targeted Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda on the same day killing a civilian and injuring two others.

The LTTE is yet to comment on the accusations.

Chronology of attacks 19 killed and 36 injured in Nugegoda blast; a civilian killed in a suicide bomb blast on the same day; 10 killed and 17 injured in an air raid to VoT; 11 civilians killed in Kilinochchi claymore attack; Four farmers shot dead in Anuradhapura on 26 November; Four civilians killed and five injured in Kilinochchi air raid

Sri Lanka military is accused of killing 11 civilians in a Claymore mine explosion in Kilinochchi on Tuesday. The military has denied any responsibility.

The same day, 10 people were killed and 17 others sustained injuries in an air raid by Sri Lanka Air Force on Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio station.

A day before, the LTTE is accused shooting dead four farmers in Mahavilachchiya, Anuradhapura.

On Sunday, four civilians were killed and five more injured in an SLAF air raid in Kilinochchi. Denying targeting civilians, the Sri Lanka military accused the LTTE of propaganda.

Military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, admitted that the SLAF targeted 'a clandestine radio station'.

'Deliberately targeting' civilians

The situation 'closely resembles', the SLMM says, the level of violence prior to the signing of the Norwegian-monitored Cease fire Agreement (CFA).

In a statement issued on Friday, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said both the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lanka government are 'deliberately and indiscriminately launching' attacks on civilians.

	HRW says the violence underlines the urgent need for a UN mission

"Both the Tigers and government forces are brazenly violating the laws of war by targeting civilians or failing to distinguish between civilians and combatants," HRW's Asia director Brad Adams said.

The rights watchdog has re-iterated that the escalation of violence 'underlines the urgent need' for a UN rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka.

The LTTE and the government is urged by the HRW to take stronger measurers to designate de-militarised zones for civilians, ensure the protection of displaced persons irrespective of race or religion and end violence and harassment against Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) workers.