"They feel they have no other option but to occupy their homes," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone on Friday. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said in October that all land held by the state in the northern and eastern provinces would be returned by December 31. We have retained some land for national security purposes," said Brigadier Sumith Atapattu, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan army. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands uprooted from their homes in the war, which ended in 2009. In deciding to occupy their homes, the villagers of Keppapulavu were following the lead of more than 350 Sri Lankan Tamils who last year reclaimed their homes on an island held by the Navy, Guruparan said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 25, 2019 16:52 UTC