The United States yesterday said their military was willing to return to Sri Lanka for future reconstruction activity, should the need arise, but ruled out any work in LTTE-controlled areas.

"Our focus is going to be relief and reconstruction and we work in government controlled areas," said James Entwistle, the US embassy’s charges d’affaires. "We do not have any form of political contact with the LTTE and I don’t think that will change any time soon."

Entwistle speaking at a press conference in Colombo, organised to a new phase in the US Government’s tsunami assistance to Sri Lanka. He said: "If, in the future`85 it becomes apparent that, perhaps, the US military could be involved in reconstruction`85 we will be glad to look at that."

Addressing the media, Brigadier General Frank Panter, commander of the Combined Support Group-Sri Lanka, announced that all US troops will leave the country within the next two weeks. "We will be deploying back to our home stations within the next two weeks," he said, adding that it would be a phaseprocess.

Of the 900 troops still in Sri Lanka, one hundred left yesterday and another one hundred are due to leave today.

"I would like to state one thing," the brigadier general said. "We will take with us inspiration from the Sri Lankan people who have shown great strength in the face of such devastating disaster."

"We have worked closely with your senior civilian leadership and your professional military," he continued. "It has been a close relationship. Many lasting friendships have been formed, military to military, and military to civilian and I hope they will continue."

The mission of the US military in the short term was now in a transitory stage, with the focus shifting from a combined military and civil relief effort to rehabilitation and reconstruction by civilian organisations. Entwistle said the US military had completed the tasks of heavy ground and air lift, debris clearing, medical assistance, and transportation of supplies and equipment for which they are best suited.

Since arriving in Sri Lanka, US military cargo planes and helicopters had conducted nearly 300 humanitarian assistance flights, delivering more than 600,000 pounds of relief supplies to areas around the country including Koggala, Ampara, Pottuvil, China Bay and Jaffna. US military flights also transported hundreds of doctors, relief workers and third-country national military personnel to multiple relief distribution sites.

US military medical personnel distributed medical supplies to hospitals throughout the island and provided care for more than 1,800 patients in northern Sri Lanka. To support the disaster relief phase, US military engineers cleared unsafe debris from schools, demolished unsafe buildings; returned boats displaced by the tsunami to Galle harbour and reinforced an existing sea wall. They also distributed nearly 90,000 gallons of fresh water and decontaminated water from fresh water wells.