The government has portrayed its final battle against the 26-year insurgency by the Tamil Tigers, which ended in late May with the killing of the group’s leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, as a rescue mission to liberate civilians held hostage by one of the world’s richest and most ruthless armed groups.

“We can’t say this was a war; it was a humanitarian operation to safeguard the people of the area,” said President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week. “They knew we were not against the Tamil people, against the civilians. This was only against the terrorists.”

Although many of the camps’ residents are grateful to the government for freeing them from the rebels, frustration and anger are building as it becomes clear that reconciliation and finding a political solution to the grievances of the Tamils and other minority groups will have to wait. Camp conditions have improved since the early days in April and May when the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of people caught the government and aid groups flatfooted.

Hundreds of shelters are being built to replace flimsy tents. Children are attending schools, and health centers are helping check the spread of diseases. But that has done little to tamp down the impatience of those living here.