COLOMBO, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government said Friday that about one half of the 280,000 civilians displaced by the final battles between the government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels early this year have been resettled.

    Mahinda Samarasinghe, the minister of Human Rights and Disaster Management told reporters that 143,161 Internally Displaced Civilians still remain in camps.

    Samarasinghe said 132,748 IDPs are being accommodated at welfare camps in the northern Vavuniya district, 3,373 in Jaffna, 970 in Mannar, 2,970 in Trincomallee and 3,100 in hospitals.

    "The government made all efforts to resettle the people of the Northern Province. The only problem which causes the delay is mines. The government had accelerated the demining process and currently 24 machines are engaged in the demining activities," Samarasinghe said.

    He said the IDPs would definitely be given the opportunity to cast their votes in the future elections.

    Secretary to the ministry Rajiva Wijesinha said the government considered three aspects before resettling the IDPs.

    "The first thing is demining the areas. The second is infrastructure development and the third is ensuring security," said Wijesinha.

    Wijesinha said the livelihood development programs are also underway and the people in the north will get the opportunity to receive vocational training.