Sri Lanka to release 900 ex-Tamil Tigers

Sri Lanka to release 900 ex-Tamil Tigers

2011-06-06 00:47:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

COLOMBO (BNO NEWS) -- Sri Lanka announced that it will release another 900 Tamil Tiger rebels who have completed a rehabilitation program, the Colombo Page reported on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms, the former combatants of the defeated terror organization, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), will be reintegrated into society in a ceremony on Sunday. The ex-fighters received vocational training during their rehabilitation program.

According to authorities, out of the 11,644 ex-fighters surrendered or arrested at the end of the war, 6,500 had been rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. The Sri Lankan government recently said that all the former female LTTE combatants have been released.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was militarily wiped out in May 2009, ending the 26-year-old civil war. The UN said tens of thousands lost their lives from January to May 2009 during the final phase of the military operations in the northern part of the country.

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