Six Christian priests among arrested IDPs of northern Sri Lanka

Six Christian priests, four from the diocese of Jaffna, and two belong to Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (OMI) are reportedly detained by the defense authorities of Sri Lanka following their migration to the government-controlled areas from the rebel-held territory more than a month ago. 

AsiaNews.it reported that the Bishop of Jaffna had requested their release but had not yet received any response from the Ministry of Defense.  


These priests remained with the civilians in the conflict zone until the last leg of the military operations against the Tamil Tiger rebels. They later migrated to the governemnt controlled areas where they were arrested with many others including doctors who ran the makeshift hospitals in the government proclaimed 'no-fire zone'. Nearly 300,000 intrnally displaced persons are held in refugee camps in Vavuniya.