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29,092 SLA deserters to be arrested

The Sri Lankan Army has announced a new drive to arrest more 29,092 army deserters who have refused to appear for duty or hand themselves in during periods of amnesty.

Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya has stated that during the last three years 36,308 deserters had already been arrested. The army has offered numerous amnesties in the past, with the President himself pardoning deserters on the occasion of a Buddhist festival.

Shortly after the end of the armed conflict in May 2009, the army announced that an estimated 65,000 deserters were at large.

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