"We rejoice at the announcement conveyed by both the government and LTTE (guerrillas) to our Norwegian facilitator that they are willing to come to talks without any conditions," Yasushi Akashi told a news briefing.

Speaking after talks between the co-chairs of the Sri Lanka donors' group in Brussels, Akashi said the first step to talks would be for both sides to cease military action.

Earlier Tamil Tigers said they are ready for talks with the government to halt a new episode of civil war, a top rebel leader said yesterday, but he warned violence would spread if army offensives continued.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pulled out of peace talks indefinitely in April and a new bout of fighting erupted in late July, killing hundreds of troops, civilians and rebels in the worst violence since a 2002 ceasefire.

"The LTTE is ready for talks," Tiger political wing leader SP Thamilselvan told Reuters in an e-mail interview. "However, the opportunities for resuming the talks will be much stronger when the Sri Lankan government ceases its military attacks and all the (truce) articles are fully respected and implemented."

Sri Lanka's military and the Tigers each accuse the other of trying to restart a two-decade civil war that has killed more than 65,000 people since 1983 and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee their homes.

More than 200,000 people have sought refuge in tented camps across the northeast in the past six weeks.

Both sides have mounted offensive operations during the latest bout of fighting. The military has captured rebel territory near the strategic northeastern port of Trincomalee and says it has overrun Tiger bunkers by the forward defence lines that separate the foes in the far north.

Diplomats and analysts see little effort from either side to defuse the renewed war, and many fear further escalation.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has agreed to expand the peace monitoring mission in the war-torn country to include observers from other countries after Tamil Tiger rebels expelled European Union member states, an official said yesterday.

Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the island's main financial backers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday were expected to discuss expanding the depleted Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

"We are ready to work with anybody," Rambukwella said.