Building a new life after the war in Sri Lanka

21 July 2011 Last updated at 01:17 ET Help

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians are returning to their home villages in the north two years after the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka.

Access to the region for outsiders has been heavily restricted by the military for many years but the rules have just been relaxed.

The BBC's Charles Haviland is the first journalist to travel there and meet those trying to rebuild their lives. He sent this report from Kilinochchi district, once the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers.

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