Thousands of Sri Lankans return home after rebels end factional fighting - UN

Most of the more than 3,000 Sri Lankans who fled their homes at the weekend to escape an uprising by a breakaway faction in the eastern region against the main rebel Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) in the north have returned home, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

The 3,303 internally displaced people streamed into two schools in Batticalao and Trincomalee after the fighting broke out Friday, some walking as much as 22 kilometres. According to Sri Lankan Government officials, however, the main LTTE faction put down the uprising, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

"The swift returns were also prompted by a belief that bad luck will befall those who are not in their homes on Sri Lankan New Year, celebrated today," UNHCR said.

Peace talks between the Government and the LTTE have been under way for two years, under the auspices of the Norwegian Government, UNHCR said, adding that the two decades of war had taken 60,000 lives and displaced millions of people.