UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday welcomed Sri Lanka's decision to grant more free movement to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and also hailed the government's move to release more than half of the IDPs from the camps.

    A statement, issued here by Ban's spokesperson, said: "The secretary-general welcomes the decision by the government of Sri Lanka to grant increased freedom of movement to internally displaced persons (IDPs) still residing in camps in northern Sri Lanka."

    "The secretary-general also welcomes the release of over half of the IDPs from the camps, and encourages the government to continue to prioritize the return of IDPs," the statement said. "These are steps which the UN has long been pressing for in its intensive engagement with the authorities in Sri Lanka, including during the secretary-general's own visit in May."

    "The secretary-general urges the government of Sri Lanka to continue to work with the UN and other humanitarian partners to improve the quality of the returns process, including through consultation with the IDPs themselves, and to ensure the best possible assistance and services to returnees," the statement said.

    While praising the Sri Lankan government for accelerating resettlement of war displaced civilians in the north, a senior official from the United Nations has stressed the need of further improving the conditions of the camps in the north where more than100,000 Tamil civilians are still being held six months after the conclusion of the island's bloody civil war.

    UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes who concluded his four-day visit to the island told reporters in Colombo on Thursday evening that he was impressed by the progress made by the government to send half of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) home.

    "The commitment of the government to resettle the IDPs is encouraging," Holmes said at the conclusion of his trip which included visiting IDP camps in the northern Vavuniya district and holding discussions with Sri Lanka's top officials.

    The camps were set up to shelter about 280,000 fleeing Tamil civilians during the final stages of the war between the military and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

    Government officials said over 130,000 Tamil IDPs have been resettled although the government originally said most of the IDPs would be resettled within 180 days.

    The Sri Lankan government was under pressure from the UN and human rights groups to resettle the IDPs who are under tight security measures.