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The Sri Lankan military has erected a signboard designating a military-run agricultural farm on privately owned land inside the Valikamam North High Security Zone (HSZ), entrenching its presence even as landowners campaign for the return of their property.

Large tracts of private land in Valikamam North have remained under military occupation for more than three decades, since the High Security Zone (HSZ) was established during the armed conflict and thousands of Tamil families were displaced from June 1990.

The owners have never stopped demanding

The submissions were made as the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture concluded its official visit to Sri Lanka today, following a ten-day mission from 15 to 24 June.

Executive Director of the Committee, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera, said written submissions were handed over on

A newly published study has identified the earliest scientifically confirmed evidence of prehistoric human settlement on Velanai Island in the Jaffna Peninsula, dating back around 3,460 years and overturning an erroneous long-held Sri Lankan assumption that the region was largely uninhabited until much later.

The study, published in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology and led by Thilanka Siriwardana of Rajarata University of Sri Lanka and the University of Groningen, examined an extensive shell midden, design