Nerves of steel

Mine clearing personnel search for unexploded mines in Elephant Pass, the main land route connecting Colombo to the island's northern Jaffna peninsular, in May. The army estimates over a million mines and unexploded devices were buried in the war-torn north by the now defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, during the 37-year ethnic conflict that the United Nations estimates, claimed over 100,000 lives. Sri Lanka plans to have a victory day parade on May 18, to commemorate the day government troops killed the Tiger chief and ended the rebels' bloody campaign for a separate state. AFP