The Tamil Tiger rebels announced July 22 they would observe a unilateral 10-day ceasefire as a goodwill gesture during a regional summit to be held in Sri Lanka from July 26 to Aug. 4.

The truce announcement came amid months of heavy fighting between the government and the rebels along the front lines of their civil war in the north.

In response, the government has thrown a tight security cordon over Colombo, and is expected to effectively shut down much of the capital to prevent attacks during the South Asian summit, which will bring top regional officials — including leaders from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan — to the city.