Soldiers stop a truck for a search at a checkpoint on the A-9 road in Vavuniya, north of Colombo, December 21, 2009. Sri Lanka on Monday relaxed tight security conditions in transport to and from the former northern war zone by opening the main highway that connects the north to the rest of the island nation ahead of a presidential poll scheduled in January. REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds (SRI LANKA - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT)