Colombo, March 23 (IANS): President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday handed back land held by the military to its rightful owners in north Sri Lanka.

The president assured Tamils in the minority Tamil-dominated North that the land issue would be resolved and the land used as High Security Zones will be returned, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the 30-year civil war, large swathes of land in Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern provinces had been taken over from the public for security reasons.

The Tamil rebels were defeated in May 2009 and some public property had been returned while more remained under military control.

Sirisena visited the northern Jaffna town on Monday and distributed title deeds of land in the former High Security Zones being returned to the original owners. As a first step, 425 acres of land were handed over to the rightful owners.

The president said that every effort will be made to resolve issues faced by people irrespective of their race or religion.

He said the government was committed to peace and reconciliation among the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities while ending the mistrust, fear and suspicion among communities.

"The government has given high priority to resolve land issues of the people in the North and East," Sirisena said.

The president said the government was also now implementing a programme to rebuild the religious places in the Eastern and Northern provinces devastated by war.