Tamil MP is killed in Sri Lanka

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A Tamil member of the Sri Lankan parliament has been killed in an explosion in the north of the country.

The MP, K Sivanesan, and his driver died when a roadside bomb blew up near their car. Tamil rebels have blamed government forces for the death.

They say that the army planted the bomb, but it has denied the allegation.

A military spokesman told the BBC the Tigers should take responsibility as the incident happened inside the rebel-held territory.

Mr Sivanesan was the third MP from the rebel-backed Tamil National Alliance to be killed since clashes between the government and the rebels restarted more than two years ago.

The Tamil Tigers say that government special forces soldiers, known as deep penetration units, infiltrated rebel territory to set off the blast alongside Mr Sivanesan's car.

Tamil rebels want an independent homeland for the island's ethnic minority Tamils in the north and east.

The rebels say that Tamil people have suffered years of discrimination at the hands of the country's Sinhalese majority.

More than 70,000 people have been killed since the violence began in 1983.