Marking the end of a war in Sri Lanka
- 12 years ago
STORY: Sri Lanka on Saturday marked the third anniversary of the end of the war with Tamil Tigers.
Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in 2009 in the final months of Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war, a United Nations panel said last year, as government troops advanced on the ever-shrinking northern tip of the island controlled by Tamil forces fighting for an independent homeland.
The U.N. panel said it had "credible allegations" that Sri Lankan troops and the Tamil Tigers both carried out atrocities and war crimes, and singled out the government for most of the responsibility for the deaths.
Sri Lanka has acknowledged that some civilians were killed in the last months of the offensive, but says the numbers cited by the U.N. panel are vastly exaggerated. The U.N Human Rights Council has said the country should ensure government troops who committed war crimes towards the end of its war against Tamil rebels are brought to justice.
Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in 2009 in the final months of Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war, a United Nations panel said last year, as government troops advanced on the ever-shrinking northern tip of the island controlled by Tamil forces fighting for an independent homeland.
The U.N. panel said it had "credible allegations" that Sri Lankan troops and the Tamil Tigers both carried out atrocities and war crimes, and singled out the government for most of the responsibility for the deaths.
Sri Lanka has acknowledged that some civilians were killed in the last months of the offensive, but says the numbers cited by the U.N. panel are vastly exaggerated. The U.N Human Rights Council has said the country should ensure government troops who committed war crimes towards the end of its war against Tamil rebels are brought to justice.