The Sri Lankan government will destroy over 27,000 illegal firearms recovered by police and other law enforcement agencies, a local website said Tuesday.

The weapons will be destroyed publicly at the Independence Square in Colombo next Friday, the International Day Against Illegal Firearms.

The Ministry of Public Security, Law and Order announced Tuesday that this will be the first time in 14 years that such a large haul of firearms is destroyed.

The firearms were recovered by police in the course of investigations or special operations or taken from the custody of Divisional Secretariats and other agencies after being surrendered over the past several years, Ministry Secretary Tilak Ranaviraja was quoted as saying.

He also said a large number of these firearms have become obsolete, and only a few of antique value are being kept.

Source: Xinhua