A total of 13 Sri Lankan refugees, who were living in various camps across the State of Tamil Nadu in India, left for Colombo on Tuesday, under the voluntary repatriation programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“All 13 of them gathered at Madurai and left for Colombo this morning. On reaching Colombo, they would leave for their native places by road. The next batch of refugees from the State would leave for Colombo on March 28,” sources said.

Presently, about one lakh Sri Lankan refugees are living in camps across the State. Between 2002 and 2015, over 12,000 refugees have returned to the island.

(The Hindu)