Associated Press, Wed October 12, 2005 13:34 EDT . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ A top United Nations official warned Wednesday that development will stall in tsunami-hit Sri Lanka unless the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels make peace.

``If there is peace in this country we can perform miracles in the next couple of years,'' Jan Egeland, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, told reporters on the final day of a two-day visit.

``If there is no peace, but war, I foresee a long and difficult humanitarian phase where we cannot go into development very effectively,'' Egeland said.

He urged both sides to take note of how the tsunami disaster helped the Indonesian government end its conflict with rebels in Aceh province.

The Tamil Tigers began fighting the government in 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing majority Sinhalese of discrimination. More than 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before Norway brokered a cease-fire in 2002.

Subsequent peace talks broke down in two years ago but the truce has held despite increasing strains.

``This conflict is long overdue to be resolved,'' said Egeland, who was in Sri Lanka to review international aid efforts in the wake of the Dec. 26 Indian ocean tsunami, which killed 31,000 people here.

Egeland canceled his plan to travel to Indonesia, which bore the brunt of the tsunami disaster, to travel to earthquake-ravaged Pakistan. However, he said the international community would not abandon the 11 nations affected by the tsunami.

``The money which is committed will be honored,'' he said.