Sri Lanka's vote: A new chapter?-video

We discuss if elections will help restore national unity after decades-long strife and sectarianism.

Sri Lankans in the north vote on Saturday in provincial elections for the first time in 25 years. During the country's long civil war, the region served as the base for separatist rebels belonging to the Tamil Tigers. The civil war between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority in the northeast began in 1983, and ended only in 2009, when government soldiers recaptured areas controlled by the Tamil rebels. Most of the fighting between government soldiers and the Tamil separatists happened in the north, but Tamil fighters also carried out suicide bombings in the capital Colombo. The conflict has killed an estimated 100,000 people and about 250,000 Tamil refugees had to flee their homes because of the violence. A 2011 United Nations report has accused both sides in the conflict of committing war crimes against civilians.