With drought conditions in Sri Lanka worsening and the cumulative rainfall by mid-July falling some 30 to 50 percent below normal in most areas, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today that the next couple of months will be critical for the main crop season in the Indian Ocean island.

The United Nations refugee agency today said it was “critical” to resolve the plight of 370,000 displaced Sri Lankans, victims of a separatist conflict that has claimed more than 65,000 lives in the past two decades, by restoring property rights, clearing landmines, and investing in housing, schools, health and other services.

In the single biggest formal release of child soldiers by Sri Lanka’s main rebel Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has facilitated the return of nearly 150 children out of the hundreds and possibly thousands still in rebel ranks.