The Sri Lankan police has extended the period of amnesty granted to armed groups in the Eastern Province to hand over weapons, a local radio station quoted police sources as saying on Thursday.

The state radio, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation quoted the deputy inspector general of the police Edison Gunathilaka as saying that they could now hand over the weapons until 3 p.m local time (0930 GMT) on Saturday.

The original deadline was to expire on Thursday.

The police says they have identified around 18 different groups carrying fire arms illegally in the province's Batticaloa and Ampara districts.

Some armed groups claim the weapons are being used for self defense against the rebel Liberaton Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The amnesty was granted on June until 2 July following the arrest of seven members belonging to an armed Muslim group in the Batticaloa district's Kathankudy area.

A committee comprising community leaders was appointed enabling the groups to hand over weapons.

The police says over 400 illegal fire arms are being used in the province.

The multi-ethnic Eastern Province, once a hotbed of violence, has seen relative calm prevailing since the government troops evicted the LTTE rebels from the province in mid-2007.

Source: Xinhua