COLOMBO, July 29: In a bid to salvage the prevailing truce, the Norwegian ceasefire monitoring team has said that both the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are preparing for a ‘steady and gradual’ implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement.

The monitoring mission pointed out that it’s an encouraging sign that the Tigers are not pressing for “100 per cent implementation of ceasefire agreement” before taking to talks.

Major General Trond Furuhovde, head of SLMM, said “it’s a good sign to see that both parties have shown mutual understanding for the peace process”.

“The ceasefire has now lasted for more than five months — the longest cessation of hostilities since the beginning of the conflict. The A-9 Road has been opened for the benefit of the general public and now it is functioning without any restrictions,” he said.

Out of a total of 159 places of worship listed in the government-controlled areas in the North and the East of Sri Lanka, only two are still under government forces.

All together 19 places of worship are yet inaccessible to the public since they are situated within areas marked as “high security zones”.

According to sources in the SLMM’s district offices, a large number of school buildings have been vacated, leaving only one school occupied in Mannar, one in Trincomalee and 11 in Jaffna district.