Sinhala Buddhist monks, accompanied by Sri Lankan police and Sinhalese fishermen, threatened a group of Tamil fishermen in Mullaitivu on Tuesday, as tensions continued to flare in the region between the two groups.

The Tamil fishermen, who were setting up to dry their daily catch in Kokkilai, were approached by a group of Sinhalese fishermen on Tuesday. Accompanied by a local Buddhist monk and Sri Lankan police officers, the Sinhalese group proceeded to threaten the Tamils and destroying their equipment they said.

Displaced Tamil villagers in Mullaitivu have postponed a planned hunger strike after assurances from Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan that they would soon be returned to their rightful land.

A hunger strike was initially planned by IDPs in Keppapilavu for Tuesday, to protest against the Sri Lankan military grab of hundreds acres of land belonging to Tamil villagers.

Approximately 524 acres of land has been occupied by the Sri Lankan military since 2009, leaving villagers stranded in temporary resettlement.

Jaffna University vice chancellor Prof Vasanthi Arasaratnam said that teaching is set to resume at the university on Wednesday, after she announced the appointment of a committee to investigate clashes between Sinhala and Tamil students on the weekend.

The university will begin a phased return to teaching with the medical faculty, 'Sithar' medical unit, engineering faculty and agricultural faculty resuming normal activities from Wednesday.

The UN World Tourism Organisation has been criticised for organising a conference in an Eastern resort notorious for human rights violations and the displacement of locals.

The UNWTO conference entitled "Tourism: a Catalyst for Development, Peace and Reconciliation" held in Passikudah was dubbed a 'farce' by Sri Lanka Campaign.

The Society for Threatened Peoples recently detailed in a report that tourism development in war-affected parts of the East result in human rights violations.