A special security program has been launched to ensure the safety of civilians living in some areas in the north central province bordering the Tamil Tiger region, defense officials said on Saturday.

The civilians living in villages threatened by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in the north central province districts of Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and the north eastern district of Mannar are being given fire arms training and training in explosives handling such as the use of grenades in self defense, the officials said.

Sarath C Perera, the Assistant Superintendent of Police at Kebithigollewa, said that a civilian fire arms training program had been successfully completed in his area.

Kebithigollewa was the scene of a claymore mine explosion on a civilian bus on June 15. Some 68 villagers including several children were killed in the explosion blamed on the LTTE.

The Tiger rebels however denied responsibility for the explosion. President Mahinda Rajapakse visited the site immediately after the incident and vowed to take special security measures to protect the villagers.

The government has blamed the Tigers of trying to get rid of the majority Sinhalese community from the villages and surrounded the rebel held areas.

Several massacres of Sinhalese in these villages have taken place during the country's long running separatist armed conflicts.

More than 64,000 people were killed in the conflicts which escalated in the mid 1980s. The LTTE rebels want to set up a separate state for the minority Tamil community in the north and east provinces of the country.

Source: Xinhua