A cargo ship carrying humanitarian aid for Sri Lanka's war-affected civilians has been allowed to unload its goods in southern India after it was turned back by the Sri Lankan navy, a local English newspaper said on Tuesday.

The Daily Mirror said the ship would be allowed to unload its goods in Chennai from where the supplies will be transferred to Sri Lanka through the Indian Red Cross.

The Syrian-flagged Captain Ali carrying 884 tonnes of relief supplies for Tamil civilians displaced by the battles between the government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels was intercepted and turned back early this month by the Sri Lankan navy, saying proper procedure was not followed by the ship.

The vessel, loaded with relief supplies contributed by Tamil diaspora, left Britain in May shortly before the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was defeated by the government troops.

The new development came after a meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna and a Sri Lankan delegation comprising senior presidential adviser Basil Rajapakse, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga in India.

About 300,000 Tamil civilians displaced by the final battles between the government troops and the LTTE are now being housed in scores of camps in the northern Vavuniya and Jaffna districts.

Source: Xinhua