An explosion hit the home of a financier of opposition presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka on Friday, amid increasing violence before a close presidential election next week. The elections commissioner said that police and soldiers would be on guard to ensure people could cast their votes safely.

"Violence is nothing new to this country. It has been occurring all the time during campaigns," Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake told reporters. "I'm not worried. Only the contestants are worried." Four people have been killed already in attacks leading up to the Tuesday's presidential vote, in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa has seen his seemingly insuperable popularity fade with Fonseka's entry into the race. Earlier in the day, the residence of Tiran Alles, a wealthy businessman who split from President Mahinda Rajapaksa after supporting him in the 2005 election, was bombed by an unidentified group.

Copyright Reuters, 2010