2ND LEAD (UPDATE)

10 SLA deserters escape from custody

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 August 2008, 09:18 GMT]
Ten deserted soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) escaped from the Pelawatte SLA camp in Akuragoda, located near Colombo, on Friday while being detained for further inquiry. The deserters were arrested by the military police of the SLA and handed over to the police for follow up action, sources in Colombo said. They were later arrested by the Sri Lankan military police.

The military police and the Sri Lanka Police launched a search operation to nab these deserters, arrested them and handed them over to the SLA camp.

Meanwhile, SLA military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told the Sunday Leader last week that over 14 thousand soldiers had deserted the forces in the year 2008. The paper said the figure is around 5.4 percent of the SLA's total strength over a period of just over half a year.