More military exercises in Jaffna

The Sri Lankan army showed little sign that it was slowing down its militarisation of the North-East as it announced another batch of troops had completed a “Special Infantry Operations -  Refresher Course” at its base in Jaffna.

An official army website declared that 60 officers had passed out from the course, which it said was “the first ever Refresher Course to be held within the Jaffna peninsula in recent times”.

Camouflaged troops completed a series of exercises before senior military officials and were subsequently gifted awards.

The military exercise comes despite calls for the Sri Lankan army to demilitarise the region. The Sri Lankan armed forces have occupied the Jaffna peninsula since 1995, when it launched a massive military invasion of the district.

It continues to have a large presence in the district with tens of thousands of troops stationed in the peninsula.