Colombo, June 3 (IANS) The Sri Lankan military withdrew most of its troops from Colombo Saturday citing improved security conditions, three years after a war with Tamil Tiger rebels ended.

Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya told Xinhua that soldiers will remain only at a few selected locations in Colombo.

We removed most of the army checkposts in the city Saturday and handed it over to the police. This is as a result of the continuing improvements we see in the security of the city, the military spokesman said.

The Sri Lankan Army has defeated the rebels in May 2009 after three decades of war. Most of the emergency laws which were in place during the war were also removed.