Amnesty for Lankan army deserters, over 1,500 report for duty

Over 1,500 Sri Lankan army deserters have rejoined duty after being offered a general amnesty, boosting the military's fight against Tamil rebels.

"The deserters who do not have any criminal record were offered amnesty and given time between November 12-25 to re-join," Defence spokesman, Udaya Nanayakkara, said.

He said over 1,500 army deserters have already joined duty and the number of such personnel could cross 1,600 before the deadline ending on Sunday.

"They will be given training to bring them back into high fitness level before resuming duty in their respective regiments," Nanayakkara said.

The amnesty applied not only to army deserters, but also to those who remained absent from duty without getting official leave.

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