Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels finally released two homeguards held by them since mid August, military and international truce monitoring sources said on Saturday.

The two men, Chandana Piyasiri and Sarath Bandara, have been held captive by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebelsin eastern port district of Trincomalee since Aug. 10.

"They were released around 3:00 p.m. local time," a senior military official said, adding that they were handed over to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission on Saturday at Sampur, an LTTE controlled area in Trincomalee district.

The wives of the two detained men had traveled to Sampur along with the truce monitors to receive them, military sources said.

Their captivity led to widespread protests from the majority Sinhala community organizations in Trincomalee.

The LTTE demanded the exchange of their members under government detention for the release of the two homeguards.

The government has initially rejected the rebel demand but allowed the matter to be settled through the court procedure.

A group of 10 LTTE rebels were given bail under a court order on Thursday which eventually led to the release of the two homeguards.

Source: Xinhua