Sri Lanka military offers amnesty to deserters

COLOMBO, Jan 12 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's army has offered nearly 17,000 deserters an amnesty to return to ranks amid a new chapter of civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said today.

Around 50,000 soldiers have deserted the Sri Lankan military since the war began in 1983, but the military's offer only stands for those who have gone absent without leave since the end of 2003 in the belief that they are fit for retraining.

Sri Lanka's army is 125,000-strong, and around 630 soldiers have been killed in the past year in a series of land battles with the Tigers and rebel ambushes.

''We have given a general amnesty from Jan. 20-31 for them to rejoin the army, as it is easy for us to refresh their training rather than giving full training to new recruits,'' said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.

The military says several hundred deserters have been caught over the years, and punishments vary from a pay cut and demotion to jail time.

REUTERS PDM HT1404