20,000 LTTE sympathisers could be in welfare camps: Lankan Army

Sri Lankan security forces are zeroing in on some 20,000 LTTE sympathisers scattered in various government run-welfare camps in Wanni in the guise of displaced civilians after the defeat of the rebels in May.

Sri Lankan security forces are zeroing in on some 20,000 LTTE sympathisers scattered in various government run-welfare camps in Wanni in the guise of displaced civilians after the defeat of the rebels in May.

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"It is possible that there are about 15,000-20,000 male and female activists who were directly or indirectly involved with the LTTE before its defeat," Maj Gen Jaya Ratnayake, who is overseeing the IDP facilities and related programmes in the North, told reporters on Thursday.

Ratnayake said out of them there were about 10,000 LTTE supporters and sympathisers who were being rehabilitated at the Vavuniya welfare camps which houses over 2.6 lakh displaced Tamils.

"We are providing them with the vocational courses of their choice so that they can find suitable employment and lead a normal life after being associated with the LTTE for long," he said.

Ratnayake said many of them are also agriculturists who are returning to the fields in the fertile north.

The top official said the police was enquiring into the possibility of the rest 5000-10,000 Tiger activists resent in various camps with a view to bring them to the mainstream.