I. SITUATION OVERVIEW & HIGHLIGHTS
Returns and displacement
By the end of August 2012, 447,269 people (133,518 families) had returned to the Northern Province. This figure includes 234,024 people (74,192 families) displaced after April 2008 and 213,245 persons (59,326 families) displaced before April 20081.
At the end of August, 3,058 IDPs (884 families), displaced after April 2008, remained in camps awaiting return to their areas of origin. During September there were several resettlement movements from Menik Farm and host families to their areas of origin. There was also a voluntary relocation movement of 214 IDPs (55 families) originally from Keppappilavu village of Maritimepattu Divisional Secretariat Division (DSD) to Sooripuram village. This relocation was completed by the Government of Sri Lanka, without assistance from the international agencies. As of 21 September, 1,185 IDPs (361 families) remained in Menik Farm (See Table 1).
An additional 7,329 IDPs (1,981 families) from the protracted or long-term caseload, displaced prior to April 2008, remained in welfare centres in Jaffna and Vavuniya districts.
The Government and the UN are committed to finding solutions for displaced people, who sought shelter with friends and relatives, left camps and are still living with host families, or are stranded in transit sites. Additionally long-term IDPs seek assistance to reclaim their homes and properties or integrate with their host communities.