Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have rejected a deal that could have allowed peace talks with the government to resume next Monday.
The head of the Scandinavian truce monitoring mission traveled to the rebels' northern base, but failed to even meet with Tamil Tiger leaders, so he returned to Colombo Saturday.
The rebels said last Sunday they would not attend the talks in Geneva because of a dispute over how to transport commanders to their northern headquarters for consultations.
The rebels have insisted they be given helicopter rides or use their own boats to travel to the north, demands rejected by the government.
Some analysts say the rebels are using the transport issue as an excuse to stay away from the talks.
Meanwhile, a mine exploded in the north Saturday, killing a government soldier.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.