SLA arrests deserted soldiers

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2008, 19:35 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has begun to arrest deserted soldiers who fail to return for duty on the expiry of amnesty period granted by the government. So far 1,700 such soldiers rejoined their ranks, said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, military spokesman to the media.

Meanwhile, about seventeen thousand have deserted soldiers are at large. Some had gone on leave but failed to return for duty. Others had left their stations without informing their superiors, military sources said.