Troops to boost security

Troops have been deployed amid fears of suicide bomb attacks against Presidential candidates staging their final campaign rallies.

"Extraordinary measures" had been taken to strengthen security in Colombo for two key rallies ahead of Thursday's vote, to prevent a repeat of past pre-poll violence, said DIG Pujith Jayasundara.

"We have called in the Army to reinforce the police wherever necessary," Jayasundara told AFP. "We have received reports of possible LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) suicide attacks."

Joint police and army patrols were guarding rallies by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.Jayasundara said a suspected Tamil Tiger gunman shot dead a rival Tamil activist on Sunday night despite the tight security.

It was not immediately clear whether the killing of the senior member of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), B. Rasanayagam, was linked to the elections.