A Sri Lankan court has ordered the recommencement of excavation work on a mass grave in Chemmani, on the outskirts of Jaffna, which first came into focus during the LTTE conflict in the 1990s, seven months after it was halted.

Authorities had paused excavation work in Chemmani in the Northern Province in September last year, amid incessant rains and pending approval of the next tranche of funds by the Ministry of Justice.