population and drive non-Tamils out. 

The government is sending more police and troops to eastern Sri Lanka, where the murder of four Moslem civilians in the past week, and the killing of at least one Tamil, threatens to spark open war between Moslems and Tamils. Although the Tamil rebels deny it, for over a decade, Tamils have attacked Moslems in otherwise majority Tamil areas. Tamils are Hindu, the majority Sinhalese are Buddhist. 

The rebels have also been accused of killing, since the truce took force last February,  35 Tamil politicians and activists who do not support the rebels.

The peace negotiations are stalled over the issue of Tamil independence, rather than autonomy. The negotiations are to resume in September.