In pictures: Women in Sri Lanka conflict

Ganeshwary Santhanam, 27, is a mother in a Tamil majority area of eastern Sri Lanka. She also used to fight for the Tamil Tiger rebels. (Photos by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai.)

After four years outside the organisation, she is undergoing training. "If war breaks out again, I have to safeguard my village and people."

There are many women like her to be found now in Tiger-controlled areas.

They undergo two hours of rigorous training with crude imitation weapons.

Another face of the conflict, KB Mallika Rupasinghe. Her 15-year-old son was killed last month.

Mother-of-three Vijayalakshmi Shakthivel is one of the many made homeless by the conflict: "I can't live here long. I was displaced in 1990... my husband is ill. I have no income."

The Tigers pulled out of peace talks with the government last month. Low-level violence is widespread.

The question is, will Tamil Tiger fighters like these soon be at war with the Sri Lankan military?

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