Additionally, another 60,000 people are slated to go home over the next few weeks, the government said.

The civilians, most of them residents of northern Sri Lanka, were displaced last spring at the conclusion of the 26-year-long conflict between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorist group. Many of those civilians were held hostage by the LTTE as a human shield.
The government defeated the LTTE in May and freed the civilians, who then moved to newly-established Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) centers.

Much of the north, however, remains uninhabitable due to landmines, contaminated water and a lack of other facilities. The government has launched a large-scale redevelopment and repair program in the north.

The bulk of the displaced persons are now housed in government centers near near Vanuviya and Pulmudai.

Another 6,596 people are living in IDP centers in the northern city of Jaffna, while 6405 are in Trincomalee and 1,391 are in Mannar. About 1,626 displaced people are hospitalized, the government reported.

About 60,000 more displaced people will go home under the current phase of resettlements, which began on Oct. 22, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, which is responsible for the IDP centers. That wave of resettlements should bring the total IDP population down to about 120,000.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that the government will return most of the displaced to their homes by year’s end.

The government provides resettled families with household goods, kitchen utensils, agricultural tool kits, six months dry rations, an initial payment of Rs.5,000 (about $45), a shelter grant of Rs.25,000 ($225), roofing sheets, land preparation cost of Rs.4,000 ($36) per acre, provision of seed paddy, fertilizer and transport facilities.

Those who have been resettled have gone to their native communities in the Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee and Mullaithivu districts.

Another 2,048 persons (594 families) have been resettled in the Mullaithivu District, a former LTTE stronghold.

The large number of landmines in Northern Sri Lanka remains a primary obstacle to resettlement. Estimates show that about 1.5 million landmines and unexploded ordnance litter more than 400 square kilometers of Northern terrain.

Villages, roads and agricultural fields must be de-mined before people can move back.
Landmines have so far been cleared from all of the main and secondary roads in the north. De-mining units are now moving onto access roads and into villages, where the LTTE buried mines as they retreated to prevent people from returning to their homes.

Seven nations are helping Sri Lanka with de-mining. The United Nations must certify that villages are safe from landmines before residents can return.