COLOMBO, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government said on Tuesday that it has received international commitments for about 60 percent of the money needed to resettle the Tamil civilians displaced by the final battles between the government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

    Minister of Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe told reporters that firm commitments had already been secured.

    "We have received commitments for around 60 percent of the 155 million U.S. dollars we need," Samarasinghe said, adding that the international community has been steadfast in pledging support to Sri Lanka.

    The Sri Lankan government is grappling with the problem of nearly 300,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) who were forced to leave their homes in the Northern Province in the run-up to the crushing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May.

    The IDPs are currently being housed in government-run welfare centers in the northern districts of Vavuniya and Jaffna.

    A program to resettle them within 180 days has been launched by the government.

    The LTTE had been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east for more than two decades based on claims that the island's minority Tamils were being discriminated by the majority Sinhalese dominated governments.