Sri Lanka probes presence of six foreigners in refugee camps

The Sri Lankan government on Thursday said it has identified six foreign nationals among thousands of displaced Tamils living in the refugee camps and authorities were probing whether they have any links with the LTTE.

Three Australians and one each from Britain, the Netherlands and Norway were found in the government run camps made for persons escaping from the war zone in the northeast after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last month.

"We have discovered that there are three Australians among the IDPs who have been identified," Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told PTI here.

"The Australian authorities have sought their release but we are looking into the whole matter as they were found in the IDP camps for civilians who have come from the former LTTE held areas," he said.

The status of Australians and others will be screened to find out whether they have any links with the Tamil Tigers, according to officials.

Meanwhile, Mr. Samarasinghe said the family of the British national, a woman identified as Danilvany Gnanakumar, was already in touch with the British High Commission in Colombo to secure her release.

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