A renewed amnesty by the Sri Lankan army has led to more than 3,000 deserting soldiers returning and obtaining legal discharge, reports the Ministry of Defence.
The amnesty, which was declared on the 1st of December, has seen the reporting of 3 officers and 2983 soldiers of the army, 1 officer and 256 sailors of the navy and 7 officers and 113 airmen, in less than three weeks. The amnesty period will last until the end of this month.
This is the second such time this year the Sri Lankan government has declared a general amnesty for military deserters. Previous amnesties have seen tens of thousands of Sri Lankan deserters return to obtain their legal discharge.