Scandinavian truce monitors in Sri Lanka on Thursday warned that the island could slip back to war unless the latest wave of violence is arrested and the government and rebel Tamil Tigers resume peace talks.
The warning comes a day after peace-broker Norway said the fragile ceasefire was at risk of collapse.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which draws members from five Nordic nations, said even they were under threat following the latest spurt in violence that has claimed over 83 lives just in December despite the truce.
'The violence is not conducive to a badly needed high-level meeting between the parties,' mission chief Hagrup Haukland said in a statement.
'If the trend of violence is allowed to continue, war may not be far away.
'The SLMM cannot operate in an insecure environment,' he said.
He said only talks between Colombo and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam could bring peace.
On Wednesday, Norway urged the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to immediately resume talks.
Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim said in a statement that Oslo was deeply concerned about the recent wave of violence and warned that the entire peace process was at risk.
"The high level of violence and the tragic loss of life are putting the ceasefire agreement at risk and will make it very difficult to secure further progress in the peace process," Solheim said.