Colombo: Tamil civilians displaced due to the war with the LTTE will soon be resettled in their places after the landmines recovered by the army were cleared, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said.
There are around three lakh IDPs put up in welfare camps and villages in Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna.
"The resettlements of IDPs in the main relief villages would begin as soon as the required areas were cleared of all landmines," Rajapaksa told the Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi in Colombo.
Akashi, meanwhile, appreciated the programme for welfare and resettlement of IDPs in the North, despite the challenges the government faced due to the arrival of large numbers within a short period.
In a meeting with Rajapaksa, Akashi also said the conditions in the relief villages for Tamil civilians liberated from terrorism had improved much from what he saw during his earlier visit a few weeks ago.
Detailing Akashi on the resettlement programme, Rajapaksa said more than 2,000 IDPs in Mannar district had already been given suitable accommodations with UNHCR's participation.
He added that majority of IDPs will be resettled within 180 days and government was working on it, according to an official statement.