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| UN confirms Tamil camps exodus | UN confirms Tamil camps exodus |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| UN humanitarian chief John Holmes has confirmed that more than half the Tamils who were in refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka have now left them. | UN humanitarian chief John Holmes has confirmed that more than half the Tamils who were in refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka have now left them. |
| The camps were set up to house Tamils who fled the final stages of Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war which ended in May. | The camps were set up to house Tamils who fled the final stages of Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war which ended in May. |
| Mr Holmes, who has just visited the area, said fewer than 135,000 people now remained in the camps. | Mr Holmes, who has just visited the area, said fewer than 135,000 people now remained in the camps. |
| The government had been under pressure to speed up their resettlement. | The government had been under pressure to speed up their resettlement. |
| Mr Holmes said it was an extremely welcome development, and that it was clear those who had been able to go home were glad to be going back to their villages. | |
| He expressed the hope that the issue of freedom of movement for those remaining in the camps would be tackled soon - and said the Sri Lankan government had indicated some flexibility on this. |