This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8368649.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
UN confirms Tamil camps exodus UN confirms Tamil camps exodus
(about 1 hour 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. 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.
"We are very much encouraged by the government's progress to resettle people. There were about 288,000 people in May and now it's much less," he told the AFP news agency.
'Lack of consultation'
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.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.
But he still had concerns about the nature of the returns process, and said there had been some lack of consultation with the Tamils themselves, and with the UN. "Months after the conflict ended, our main concerns haven't changed. People are still not given free access to leave these camps on their own free will," he said.
Mr Holmes said the safety of the returnees, and their access to basic services, must be ensured. And he still had concerns about the nature of the returns process; there had been some lack of consultation with the Tamils themselves, and with the UN.
It has been a difficult year for relations between Sri Lanka and the UN
Mr Holmes said the safety of the returnees, and their access to basic services, had to be ensured.
His trip has taken in the areas most scarred by the conflict and its aftermath - including the displacement camps near Vavuniya, and Jaffna, once held by the Tamil Tiger rebels whose defeat ended the civil war.
Resettlement from the camps has been so rapid that the Tamil National Alliance, a pro-Tiger party, has accused the government of abandoning people without proper infrastructure.
Schools and other facilities in Vavuniya town are now reported to be overcrowded.
The BBC Colombo correspondent says this has been a difficult year in UN-Sri Lankan relations and Mr Holmes is sticking to quiet diplomacy so far, with meetings with top officials on his agenda after he returns from the north.