Sri Lanka assured Bangladesh of high security during their upcoming cricket tour this month even as fighting escalated between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh arrive here on June 17 for a tour comprising three Test matches and three one-day internationals.

All matches will be played in Colombo, except the third Test which will be held in the hill resort of Kandy.

"My ministry has already got in touch with the ministry of foreign affairs on this," Lokuge told AFP.

The minister was responding to a reported circular issued by the Bangladeshi government advising its officials to avoid visiting Sri Lanka, even in transit, following escalation of the conflict on the island.

Lokuge insisted that Colombo was safe and the government would ensure the safety of the visiting team.

South African cricketers abandoned their tour of Sri Lanka last year when suspected Tamil Tiger rebels carried out a car bomb attack near the team hotel that killed four people.