Sri Lanka Army releases more Jaffna civilian properties

Sri Lankan Army has released properties belonging to civilians in Tamil dominated Jaffna, which it had taken over for military use during the civil war in the country's north.
"Two Brigade Headquarters of the Security Forces-Jaffna (SF-J) on Friday withdrew from civilian properties facilitating their legitimate owners to occupy them," a military website has said.
It said that official documents with regard to the release of 77 houses and 29 plots of lands were handed over to the state officials to facilitate the handover.
Following concerns raised by Tamils over continued occupation of private properties in Jaffna and the backing of international rights organizations to the request, the military announced a phased out withdrawal from such properties.

Sri Lanka's own reconciliation commission, Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) had recommended measures to deal with the military's occupation of civilian lands in Jaffna.
The government has also come under international criticism for maintaining a heavy military presence in the north which they claimed to impede the civilian life in the former conflict zone despite the absence of the LTTE's campaign of violence.
Sri Lanka's defence has been that larger national security concerns make it imperative to continue with a military presence.