COLOMBO -- The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger guerrillas Monday opened direct talks on rebuilding areas hit by three decades of ethnic conflict, officials and diplomats said.

The two sides started the first round of discussions on "immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs" in the island's embattled northern and eastern regions.

The talks were set up as part of the ongoing Norwegian-backed peace process between the Colombo government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who held the second round of peace talks in Thailand earlier this month.

The panel on immediate humanitarian needs was meeting Monday in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi ahead of a crucial meeting in Oslo next week aimed at drumming up international support for the peace bid, AFP reported.

Another subcommittee appointed at the Thai talks has already begun work on military de-escalation. A third panel, on political issues, is yet to begin its work.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is due to address the Oslo meet, said he expected more than money from the conference of aid donors and was looking for strong political support.

Wickremesinghe said last week that the presence of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and British Secretary for International Development Clare Short at the Oslo meet would be a sign of strong international support for his effort.

He has called for a "step-by-step" approach to address immediate problems in the island's northeast before getting down to contentious political issues underlying the protracted ethnic conflict which has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.

The latest meeting inside rebel-held territory is expected to agree on a joint effort to impress on international donors the need for help to rebuild infrastructure destroyed in the fighting.

The government side is led by a Sri Lankan diplomat, Bernard Gunatilleke, while the rebels are led by their political wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvan. Both men are also members of their respective peace negotiating teams.

The two sides have been observing an Oslo-brokered truce since February 23. Scandinavians monitoring the truce have reported violations by both sides, but have noted that they were not serious enough to jeopardize the peace bid.