The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Colombo

Sri Lanka's government officially notified peace-broker Norway on Thursday that it is pulling out of a 2002 cease-fire agreement with Tamil Tiger rebels that has failed to quell the violence.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama handed a letter to Norwegian Ambassador Tore Hattrem, saying the government has decided to terminate the Norway-brokered agreement, a Foreign Ministry statement said. The government has said growing violence in the last two years has rendered the agreement irrelevant.

The United States said it was "troubled" by the government's decision, saying it will make solving the country's problems even harder.

"All parties to the conflict share the responsibility to protect the rights of all of Sri Lanka's people," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.

Norway has warned the violence raging in Sri Lanka would likely worsen.

"This comes on top of the increasingly frequent and brutal acts of violence perpetrated by both parties, and I am deeply concerned that the violence and hostilities will now escalate even further," said Erik Solheim, a key mediator in the decades-old civil war. "This would weaken efforts to protect the civilian population, which would be most regrettable."