Sri Lanka: 1,500 Deserters Arrested Since First Of Year

Sri Lanka security forces are continuing with operations to arrest military personnel considered as Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL). Since the end of the last General Amnesty period that ended on the midnight December 31, authorities have arrested 1,500 deserters as of of March 1, according to the Sri Lanka government.

According the Military Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne, 3 officers and 1,149 members of the Army, 327 Navy and 21 Air Force deserters have been arrested so far.

Authorities will continue to take legal action against all deserters, the Sri Lanka government said.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence had provided two General Amnesty periods in 2016 for deserters to obtain legal discharges. During the last General Amnesty period that ended in December, 34 officers and 8,843 other rank personnel considered as AWOL, reported to their respective services seeking legal discharge, the Ministry said.