New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark condemns Sri Lanka bombing

A suicide bomb attack on a Sri Lankan military bus convoy is being condemned by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Nearly 100 people were killed and 150 were injured when suspected rebels rammed an explosives-laden truck into a naval convoy on Monday.

Clark has sent condolences to Sri Lanka's government and the families and those affected. She says there is no possible justification for such dreadful carnage.

She has also expressed concern at increasing violations of human rights in Sri Lanka, and is urging all sides to cease hostilities ahead of peace talks scheduled to open in Geneva at the end of the month.

The Sri Lankan government will retaliate against more attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels but remains committed to peace talks despite the suicide bombing that killed dozens of navy sailors, a top official said on Tuesday.

The comments by Palitha Kohona, head of the government's Peace Secretariat, came a day after the attack on the naval convoy which has deepened pessimism over talks due to be held in Geneva on October 28-29.

The attack near the town of Habarana, about 190 kilometres northeast of the capital Colombo, was one of the worst suicide bombings in the troubled Indian Ocean island.

"No, there is no rethink," Kohona said. "The president has reaffirmed that we will go ahead with the talks whatever. We will continue retaliating, taking action against them but we will go to the talks."

Kohona said the atmosphere was unpleasant and expectations had to be realistic when two sides involved in a bloody, nearly quarter-century conflict were heading for negotiations.

"Don't expect the world," he said. "But we hope something good will come of it."

Monday's attack came at the start of a week of hectic international diplomacy aimed at ending a rash of fighting in recent weeks between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Yasushi Akashi, the peace envoy of the island's chief financial donor, Japan, began talks with government leaders on Monday while Norway's special peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer was due to arrive on Tuesday.

US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher is also due in Colombo this week.