Sri Lanka saw yet more bloodshed on Wednesday when thirty-one civilians were killed in an attack on a bus in the south-east of the country. The island is not unaccustomed to this type of violence, but this attack could prove to be a turning point in the war between the Tamil Tigers and the state army. Our Observer Kumar explains why civilian attacks - which had become a rarity in recent years - may be on the increase again. The carnage took place in the early morning of 16 January, the day that a six-year truce between the warmongers - never entirely respected - officially ended. The bus drove over a bomb, causing it to detonate. Armed men then shot at passengers who tried to flee. Nobody has taken responsibility for the attack, but the LTTE (the Tamil Tigers) are suspected; particularly a branch of the armed group who were cut off from the rest in the east of the country following a government offensive.