Sri Lanka [Images] on Monday invited the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam to enter peace negotiations despite escalating violence.

The offer comes amidst fears that the island was slowly and steadily drifting towards full-scale hostilities.

The government's peace secretariat coordinating the Norwegian-backed peace efforts said Colombo wanted the guerrillas to go back to negotiations even though Sri Lanka rejected their claim for a de facto separate state.

"Neither the Government of Sri Lanka nor any other member of the International Community recognizes a 'de facto State of Tamil Eelam," the peace secretariat said. "This remains a myth. The LTTE militarily dominates the districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu in the Northern province, as well as pockets of territory elsewhere in the North and the East."

The remarks were in response to a statement by the Tigers after their abortive talks in Oslo with the Sri Lankan government that they will work towards a settlement for self-determination.

The invitation comes amid moves by peace broker Norway to salvage the collapsing peace process.

Norway's top peace envoy Erik Solheim asked both Colombo and the Tigers to re-confirm their willingness to continue with the initiative after failing to arrange a face-to-face meeting 11 days ago in Oslo.

Diplomats said Oslo expected a response from the Tigers by Tuesday and that several envoys were due to travel to the LTTE-held areas for fresh talks with Tigers.

Tigers have said that they will retaliate if the military resumes air attacks against them, and the pro-rebel Tamilnet on Monday reported that Supersonic warplanes were seen flying over rebel-held territory.

More than 50 people were killed in a weekend surge of violence, which included a major sea battle between the Tigers and the navy.