The Kilinochchi hospital damaged during heavy fighting between government troops and the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka was re-opened yesterday with the assistance of the UN children’s fund Unicef, officials said.

Unicef helped to re-establish the emergency obstetric and paediatric care wards at the general hospital in Kilinochchi, 320km north of Colombo.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had their political, police and administrative headquarters in the city, leading to heavy fighting in the area, causing heavy damage to the hospital and nearby government buildings.

Unicef’s Colombooffice said that it had provided assistance to refurbish and equip the operating theatre, delivery room, maternity and paediatric sections at the Kilinochchi hospital while a special baby care unit is to be provided.

“As a result, pregnant women, mothers and children will no longer need to travel long distances to access specialized health care,” Unicef said.

“This project will serve the health needs of thousands of women and children now returning back to their homes,” Unicef representative Philippe Duamelle said at the opening ceremony.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered that all persons displaced by the conflict be resettled within the next three months in the northern province.

Some 80,000 displaced still live in government-run camps, with friends and relatives and in community centres.

More than 300,000 people were displaced in the final stages of the fighting between government forces and the rebels before the government’s defeat of the LTTE in May 2009.

The government has yet to clear mines left behind during the conflict and some of the displaced people’s villages are in areas still off limits until completion of mine clearance.