Colombo: After a large scale resettlement,
the number of conflict-displaced people put up in welfare
camps in northern Sri Lanka have dropped considerably to about
1,57,000, compared to about 2,88,000 in June, an official
report says.
As of November 4, 2009, there were 1,57,453 IDPs in
welfare centres in Sri Lanka, report said.
Additionally, another 60,000 people are slated to go
home over the next few weeks, it added.
The majority of the IDPs will be resettled by end of
this year, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Disaster
Management and Human Rights said.
The latest phase of resettlements should bring the
total IDP population down to about 1,20,000 in the near
future, the report said adding, 4,390 persons (1,314 families)
have been resettled in the Mullaittivu District, a former LTTE
stronghold.
The civilians, most of them residents of northern Sri
Lanka, were displaced last spring at the conclusion of the
26-year-long conflict between Lankan security forces and the
LTTE.
Those who have been resettled have gone to their
native communities in the Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mannar,
Trincomalee and Mullaithivu districts.
Parts of the north, however, remain uninhabitable due
to landmines, contaminated water and a lack of other
facilities.
Bureau Report
