A grenade attack has killed three people and wounded 34 others in eastern Sri Lanka, where tsunami relief efforts are underway.
The attack at a funeral in a rebel-controlled area near the eastern Sri Lankan town of Batticaloa, is adding to concerns over aid workers and civilians safety.
Most of the wounded were taken to a hospital in the government-controlled area, police said Sunday.
The motive for the attack was not clear, but police suspect it was the result of religious tensions between Hindus and Christians.
Such tensions have been muted in the wake of the December 26 tsunami disaster, which killed over 46,000 on the island nation.
However, relief workers fear their efforts to get medical aid to the survivors will be hampered by sectarian violence.
Sri Lanka has been torn by a civil war for 20 years between the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government.
Hundreds of people protested in the Tamil-majority north on Sunday after U.N. chief Kofi Annan agreed to a government request not to visit the tsunami-stricken areas under rebel control, according to The Associated Press.