Responding to continued military land grabs, Jaffna Tamils chased out official land surveyors, which had planned to hand over 11 acres from Karainagar, belonging to 44 families, to Sri Lanka's army.
“We live in rented houses without our own land and depend on rain and water. They are trying to give land to the army without considering our condition. We strongly condemn this," a demonstrator told journalists.
The government officials have maintained that they were simply there to measure the land and had provided adequate notice to the Karainagar Divisional Secretary. The Northern Provincial Governor has since announced that the land will be granted to Tamil civilians.
Protesters have warned that if the military's land acquisition continues they will maintain their protests. Protesters were joined by community-level organisers, the general public, and members of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF).
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