There have been reports of young Tamil women found with their throats slit, as well as abduction by paramilitary groups of Tamil children who have been suspected of being former Tamil Tigers child soldiers. Other refugees have reported the disappearances of some children from the camps. International humanitarian organizations have also observed that Sri Lanka’s refugee camps are virtual prison camps enclosed by barbed wires where refugees, who are actually detainees, cannot step out of.

One of the most disturbing news that came out of these refugee camps is the discovery of the bodies of 11 young Tamil women in the periphery of the Menic Farm camp near the town of Vavuniya. Their throats had been slashed. According to some detainees, female Tamil Tigers who had earlier surrendered to authorities were eventually murdered. These women were easily identified as former Tamil guerrillas through their short haircut which was a requirement for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) female cadres. There are an estimated 1,000 female ex-Tamil guerrillas in the Menic Farm.

As an aftermath of the war in Sri Lanka that expunged the Tamil Tigers insurgency for a separate Tamil homeland, there are now an estimated 250,000 refugees in these ‘welfare shelters.’ Most of these people will have to stay in these camps for up to two years. However, the Sri Lanka government has announced that most of the civilians will be returned to the villages where they fled the fighting from.

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Via guardian.co.uk