Dozens of Sri Lankan soldiers and their families were taken on a ‘holiday tour’ of Jaffna, where they visited Buddhist temples and stayed at army-run holiday resorts last weekend, stated a military website.

“On directives of Commander Security Force Jaffna (SF-J) Major General Nandana Udawatta, a three day programme with visits to places of interest in Jaffna and entertainments had been arranged by Headquarters [Security Forces – Jaffna],” declared the Sri Lankan military.

On their visit, the soldiers and their families stayed at the ‘Thalsevana Holiday Resort’, which was expanded last month. Situated inside the Valikamam North High Security Zone, where Tamil villagers are still denied access to their homes, the military said the resort “provided delicious meals throughout, and musical show, calypso music and sea bath in the northern shallow sea included other entertaining events”.

See BBC South Asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt visit there earlier this year here.

The families also visited the Nagadeepa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya, a Buddhist temple situated in the Jaffna peninsula islet of Nainativu, where soldiers laid the foundation stone for a new statue of the Buddha to be built last month. The government recently issued a gazette notification, officially changing the name of the island from the Tamil name Nainathivu to the Sinhala name Nagadeepa.

The visit is reported the second of its kind with “families of some junior officers and Regimental Sergeant Majors serving in Jaffna were offered the same holiday package under the same programme” some months ago.