The Ministry of Defence & Urban Development and the Sri Lanka Navy on Friday refuted the allegations published by media that the Muslim families who have encroached the sanctuary of Willpattu National Park were the families displaced due to naval deployments in the area.

The Naval Deployment in Mullikkulam and Marichchikaddu areas have resulted in the displacement of only one (01) Muslim family and that family is not among those seeking resettlement within the sanctuary, the ministry said in a statement.

“The Sri Lanka Navy along with civil authorities had made arrangements to provide alternate land to this family in Marichchikaddu area. No other Muslim family has ever approached the Sri Lanka Navy claiming displacement due to deployments in the area,” it said.

However, the ministry stressed that the news reports published in the media quoting political sources that, “the Muslim families who put up temporary shelters within the sanctuary but outside the border of the Willpattu National Park had gone there on their own after being evicted from their lands by the Navy, which has since occupied the area,” is false and totally baseless.

“It is hereby reiterated that the families that sought shelter within the sanctuary of the Willpattu National Park were not displaced due to any naval deployment in the area as alleged in the reports published,” the statement said.

The Ministry of Defence said it hoped that the civil authorities would endeavour to solve this problem “without dragging in the security forces that are committed to safeguard the national security interests of our Motherland.”