July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka will recruit 50,000 personnel to increase security forces in areas captured when Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels were defeated last month, the military said.

The Tamil Tigers held more than 600 square kilometers (232 square miles) of territory as well as two-thirds of the coast in the north before their last forces were routed in May, Keheliya Rambukwella, the defense spokesman, said on the Defense Ministry Web site.

“Now these areas have to be maintained and administered by troops,” Rambukwella said. “We need the security forces and police to be in action to safeguard our country.”

The defeat of the LTTE ended the group’s 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The conflict drove more than 280,000 civilians from their homes and into about 40 transit camps set up in the north.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government said in May it intends to resettle all displaced people within 180 days.

The government’s priority is ensuring that the displaced people are “returned to a normal life,” Rambukwella said.

Resettlement will be a “considerable challenge” as security forces are engaged in clearing landmines and rebuilding, Rajapaksa said two days ago at a meeting with Yasushi Akashi, Japan’s representative for peace-building, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka.

Former Rebels

Rajapaksa said he wants to provide an opportunity for former Tamil Tigers to be rehabilitated into society, according to the government’s Media Center for National Security.

The International Crisis Group, in a report two days ago calling for a fairer judicial system in Sri Lanka, said magistrates should use their powers to monitor the conditions of about 10,000 LTTE fighters or suspected members held since the end of the conflict.

The LTTE said on June 16 it is creating a committee to continue the campaign for self-rule.

“It is time now for us to move forward with our political vision toward our freedom, bearing in mind the practical realities in our homeland,” Selvarasa Pathmanathan said in a recorded statement sent by e-mail.

Sri Lanka’s government will have “absolutely nothing to do with” the body, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said at the time. The rebels are defeated, he said.

A political settlement in Sri Lanka won’t include “space for racism and separatism,” Rajapaksa said at a parade last month to celebrate the victory over the LTTE.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 1, 2009 21:57 EDT