Colombo – The first batch of displaced persons from former rebel-held areas where fighting with government forces took place in the final phases of military operations of the civil war returned to their homesThursday, officials said. At least 1,200 of the war refugees, including women and children, returned to Thunukkai village, 280 kilometres north of the capital, and were sent back to their homes, the chief administrative officer forMullaitivu district, Imelda Sukumar, said.
"We will give them dry rations and provide them housing material to reconstruct their houses damaged by the war," she said.
The move came as the government accelerated the release of displaced persons held in camps in the north.
Nearly 6,000 more displaced persons left from the camps located in Manik Farm, Vavuniya, 260 kilometres north of the capital, on Thursday. However, they left to areas which were earlier under the government's control.
Officials and non-governmental organizations said that it was a significant move to allow villages to return to their homes in former rebel-held areas which were recaptured in the final battle.
The Sri Lankan government has come under local and international pressure to release the displaced from the camps which have been described as virtual detention centres.
Within the next few weeks the government plans to release more than 40,000 displaced persons.
Some 260,000 civilians displaced by the war were in the camps which were heavily guarded by the army, with no outsiders allowed in.
Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a passionate plea to displaced children and their parents, telling them not to be misguided by false promises.
"This is the time to ensure that your children are guided by you to benefit from the new facilities that are being provided for them and ensure that they are never again allowed to be misled by false prophets or saviours," the president said, making a reference to the Tamil rebels who drafted child soldiers into their struggle.
The Tamil rebels were militarily defeated after their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed on May 18, bringing an end to a 26-year civil war.
