<b>Top U.S. official to visit Sri Lanka to assess peace prospects </b>

AP World Politics

Colombo, Sri Lanka: - A top U.S. official will visit Sri Lanka soon to assess the peace prospects in this island nation following a cease-fire between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement came a day after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met with U.S President George Bush ( news, bio, voting record) in Washington.

During the meeting, President Bush ( news - web sites) pledged support to Wickremesinghe's efforts to end the 19-year-old separatist war in the island off India's southern coast.

Bush also promised to send teams to Sri Lanka to assess how best to support the peace process and to promote economic development.

The statement by the prime minister's office didn't give the dates of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's trip.

He will be the second senior U.S. official to visit Sri Lanka this year. Christina Rocca, the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, visited Colombo and the northern Jaffna Peninsula in March.

Meanwhile, one Sri Lankan army soldier was killed Thursday after he strayed into rebel-held territory in the north, in breach of the cease-fire accord, the military and international monitors said.

This was the first military death reported since the Norway-brokered truce was signed by Wickremesinghe's government and the rebels in February.

The soldier opened fire on four Tamil Tiger rebels, injuring two of them, in the rebel-controlled territory of Muhamalai, nearly 35 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Jaffna City, a statement by the Norwegian-led monitors said.

"The cadres returned fire in self-defense with the tragic result of the Sri Lankan army soldier losing his life," the statement said.

"It was reported that this soldier had been in a depressed state of mind. There appeared to have been no other know reasons for his unusual behavior," the army said in a statement in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting for a separate state for the minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of widespread discrimination in education and jobs.

The conflict has killed more than 64,500 people.

Peace talks between the government and Tamil Tigers, originally planned for May, are likely to be held in Thailand in August.

The United States, India, Britain, Canada and Australia have banned the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization.

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