Steps are being taken to release before February 8 more than one hundred acres of civilian land under military occupation for more than three decades in Jaffna, a senior official said.

Additional District Secretary (Lands) S. Muralidharan told the media the steps were being taken in after President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s instructions to officials and military commanders during a recent visit to Jaffna.

He said stakeholders were identifying the lands that were earmarked for release in Tellipali and Vasawilan.

He said security forces still occupied 3,341 acres of land in Jaffna despite protests from residents who demand the immediate release of lands for resettlement and livelihood purposes.The release of land was also taken up at Thursday’s all-party conference, where the President reiterated that identified lands would be released in phases.