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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 6.01 GMT |
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UN Humanitarian
Chief welcomes SL move to empty welfare
centers |
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United
Nations
Under-Secretary
General
for
Humanitarian
Affairs
and
Emergency
Relief
Coordinator,
Sir John
Holmes
commended
the Sri
Lankan
government's
move to
empty
the
welfare
camps
for the
displaced
civilians
in the
North by
the end
of
January
2010.
At a
press
briefing
on his
return
to US
from Sri
Lanka,
Mr.
Holmes
said
that
half of
the
camps
have
been
emptied
now and
less
than
135,000
IDPs
remain
in
welfare
centers.
Some
1,000 to
3,000
people
are
returning
home
daily,
he said.
"When I
was in
Menik
Farm at
the end
of last
week,
the
number
of
people
there
was less
than
half of
what it
had been
at then
end of
the
hostilities,"
he said.
The UN
Under-Secretary
was in
Sri
Lanka on
a
three-day
tour on
an
invitation
by the
Foreign
Minister.
He
visited
Jaffna
and
welfare
centres
including
Menik
Farm in
Vavuniya.
The
government
on
Sunday
announced
that all
IDPs
will
have
total
freedom
of
movement
from 1st
of
December
and by
31
January
all IDPs
will be
resettled.
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