Sri Lanka's Ministry of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs said 22,000 children have been born into families in Indian refugee camps, from those who have fled North-East Sri Lanka.

The Sunday Leader reported Sri Lanka's Additional Secretary of the Ministry, Mohamed Naimudeen, as saying the 22,000 children were born to approximately 100,000 families. The refugees were from  Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee and Mullaitivu said Mr Naimudeen.

The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Chairman of the United Nations Development Group Asia-Pacific, Haoliang Xu, will be visiting Sri Lanka next week, according to a statement from his office.

In what will be Mr Xu's second visit to the island, he is expected to meet with government officials, development partners and civil society groups.

Three members of Sri Lanka’s navy have been arrested over the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj who was killed in Colombo, near the headquarters of the military police, in November 2006.

Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara said the arrested were being interrogated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

“The three soldiers including two officers will also be interrogated over the incidents of disappearance of several youth reported in 2006,” he said.

The government was accused of being behind the attacks by the TNA, diaspora organisations and the UNP. The US led international criticism of the government and urged it to conduct an investigation.

Then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered an inquiry and two suspects, Nalaka Mathagaweera and Aruna Shantha Ediriweera, were arrested in 2007. Mr Rajapaksa requested assistance from Britain’s Scotland Yard, who sent a team to work with the Criminal Investigation Department, who looked at evidence. Nothing came of the inquiry. 

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance, Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, expressed confidence that the Special Presidential Commission, headed by former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, can find a suitable solution to issues concerning Tamil by the end of this year, Ceylon Today reported.

"We have clarified to the former President all matters relating to the problems faced by the people of the North and East and urged that such issues be immediately addressed meaningfully. When Kumaratunga became the President in 1994, she was very keen about settling the grievances of the Tamil people and she also mooted a suitable political solution to those issues. We were however, unable to see anything come out of it" he said.

"President Sirisena won the elections. Everyone should benefit from the change that the Presidential election has ushered in. We believe that President Sirisena will respect the legitimate demands of the Tamil people. We should be clearly focused on winning those demands," he added.

The Sri Lankan military still holds Tamils in secret camps, where they are still being tortured, JDS reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently denied TNA spokesperson Suresh Premachandran’s assertion that the government still operated such camps.

"After we took over the government, there are no secret camps. I cannot speak for the time before that," Mr Wickremesinghe said in Jaffna on Friday.

However, relatives of four people who were abducted have said there are secret camps in the Vanni, including in Keppapilavu and Mullaitivu. The relatives have contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and sought its help to get those abducted released.

Photos: Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaithivu

A new school building constructed at the Roman Catholic College in Puthukkudiyiruppu was opened by suspected war criminal Major General Jagath Dias earlier this month.

Mr Dias, who is the commander of the Mullaithivu headquarters of the Sri Lankan army, was leading an army division during the armed conflict and is thought to be responsible for mass atrocities committed during the final phase.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka which will enable the latter to withdraw up to $400mn in US Dollars or Euros.

"The Central Bank of Sri Lanka can make drawals of US Dollar or Euro in multiple tranches up to a maximum of USD 400 million or its equivalent," RBI said in a statement.

The agreement will be valid for three years and is expected to further economic co-operation between the two countries, the statement said, adding that it will also further financial stability in the region.