July 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka Rehabilitation Commissioner Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe says that 3,000 surrendered cadres of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been released so far.

The Rehabilitation Commissioner said that 11,698 LTTE cadres were identified for rehabilitation.

Among the 3,000 released ex-LTTE cadres there were university students, children, ill and disabled cadres, pregnant women, mothers with children, minor offenders and those who were acquitted by courts, Brigadier Ranasinghe said.

The government has released 363 boys and 231 girls most of whom were forcibly recruited by the LTTE as combatants, says the Rehabilitation Commissioner.