Over 1,600 Jaffna youth joined Army last three months – Commander

More than 1,600 Jaffna youth joined the Sri Lanka Army during the ongoing recruitment drive in the past three months, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said.

Silva who also holds the portfolios of Chief of Defence Staff and Head, National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) was addressing a large gathering of Tri Service troops serving the peninsula on Monday.

Silva said “this re-assures the faith and high regard those young ones have towards our organisation and symbolises their sincere need for true co-existence and reconciliation, despite obstacles and threats, placed before them by various disgruntled and divisive elements and those who want to incite them while pandering to recurrence of violence”.

The Army Commander was on a visit to assess the security situation, COVID-19 preventive work and particularly to share New Year greetings with Tri servicemen who forego their leave and opportunity to meet their loved ones during festive season.

Since the dawn of peace, the Commander said troops have been rendering an exemplary and dedicated service to the enhancement of Jaffna civilians’ livelihood income sources, development of infrastructure, construction of houses for the needy, schools, while performing civil-military cooperation projects on a large scale.