BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Women in Sri Lanka conflict

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11:02 GMT, Tuesday, 9 May 2006 12:02 UK

In pictures: Women in Sri Lanka conflict

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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.)

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

Women training under the LTTE in rural areas of eastern Sri Lanka

Women training under the LTTE in rural areas of eastern Sri Lanka

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

Women undergoing training

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

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

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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."

Tamil Tiger rebels in a training camp in eastern Sri Lanka

Tamil Tiger rebels in a training camp in eastern Sri Lanka

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

Tamil Tiger rebels in a training camp in eastern Sri Lanka

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

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