Unexploded mines planted during Sri Lanka's Tamil separatist war may have shifted during recent floods, officials said on Sunday, as residents started to return to their badly-damaged homes and farms.
More than one million people were initially displaced in the flooding, with the east of the island worst affected by a week of unusually heavy monsoon rains.
The disaster management centre in Colombo said that 37 people were confirmed dead with another 12 missing, as water levels fell in some areas and residents ventured back home to survey the devastation.
“Floods and receding waters may unearth mines and explosive remnants of war and carry explosives from contaminated areas into areas thought to be safe,” the United Nations situation report said.
It warned that local authorities had advised residents and aid workers to keep alert for shifted mines, and added that mine clearance agencies were deciding whether areas needed to be re-surveyed after the flooding.
Years of fierce fighting in the east of the island ended in 2007 and the army says it has cleared the majority of mines from the area, though no exact figures are available.
“There is a possibility that undetected mines could have shifted during floods and moved downstream,” military spokesman Ubaya Medawala said. “But we haven't had any mine casualties in the eastern regions in recent times.”
A military offensive finally ended the decades-long ethnic conflict in 2009, when government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels who had once controlled one-third of Sri Lanka. - Sapa-AFP