More than 34,000 personnel have left Sri Lanka’s tri-forces over the past five years, Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekera told Parliament on Wednesday.
The Army accounted for the overwhelming majority of departures at 31,088, followed by the Navy with 2,501 and the Air Force with 1,394 — a combined total of 34,983.
Jayasekera said the personnel left using two amnesty periods granted in 2022 and 2024.
The Army’s share of the total is close to 89% of all departures. The Deputy Minister did not give a year-by-year breakdown, nor did he set the figures against current force strengths, so the proportion of each service affected is not clear from the statement. He also did not say how the departures were distributed between the two amnesty periods.
The disclosure was made during proceedings in Parliament, where defence and public finance matters were before the House on Wednesday.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
