By Laura MacInnis and Kamil Zaheer GENEVA/COLOMBO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Weekend talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels are widely expected to end on Sunday with little more than a pledge for further negotiations over a decades-old conflict. The two sides, whose conflict has claimed more than 65,000 lives since 1983, gathered in Geneva for their first face-to-face meeting in eight months amid a resurgence of violence on the island of 20 million people. While a 2002 ceasefire officially remains in place, up to 1,000 people have been killed in fighting since July in a dispute over demands from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for an independent homeland for minority Tamils. Both parties have come under pressure to halt attacks and address humanitarian strains from the latest flare-up of violence, which has uprooted thousands of Sri Lankans from their homes. But government officials and the rebels spent the first round of talks on Saturday trading accusations over who was to blame for the hostilities, failing to make progress on major issues underlying the conflict. After the session, S.P. Thamilshelvan, chief negotiator for the Tigers, said no discernible progress had been made but his delegation would return to the table on Sunday. The government delegation, led by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, made no immediate comment. A news conference is planned at the end of Sunday's negotiations. The Tigers have threatened to shun future talks if the government does not agree to open the main highway to the Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula, whose closure in August has resulted in isolation and hardship for local residents. While supplies are being sent to the Jaffna region by ship and aircraft, some residents, Tamil politicians and civil society groups have reported serious food and fuel shortages. The government declined to say on Saturday whether it was willing to discuss re-opening the road, which it said had become unsafe because of LTTE artillery attacks.
