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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 15, 2002

Second Highway Opened for Civilian Traffic in Sri Lanka

The A-5 highway in east Sri Lanka which has been closed since September 1995 due to fighting betweenthe government and the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels was re-openedon Monday for civilian traffic.


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The A-5 highway in east Sri Lanka which has been closed since September 1995 due to fighting betweenthe government and the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels was re-openedon Monday for civilian traffic.

"The road was opened at 12:05 noon today," Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne, the military spokesman said.

This was the second highway to have been opened after the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels signed an indefinite ceasefire agreement on February.

The agreement was reached with Norwegian facilitation which is hopefully to lead to end the nearly two decades of ethnic conflict in the country that had claimed over 64,000 lives.

The first highway opened is the key A-9 highway which links thenorthern Jaffna peninsula with the south of the country in April.

Prior to the opening of the A-5 highway travelers between the eastern town of Batticaloa and the central hill town of Badulla were made to endure at least 160 additional kilometers.

The opening of the A-5 highway was not part of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE. But both sides agreed to open the road as part of the confidence building measures before the peace talks expected to be held in Thailand next month.


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