Charges by the UN that 2,800 civilians had been killed in Sri Lanka in recent weeks were “unsubstantiated,” Sri Lankan Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said yesterday.
The minister denied that government forces were firing into a demarcated “safe zone” for civilians and accused UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay of relying on pro-rebel elements to arrive at her assessment.
Pillay said in a statement on Friday that she feared both sides could be guilty of war crimes in the Sri Lanka conflict and that more than 2,800 civilians may have been killed since late January.
“It is very, very unprofessional of her [Pillay’s] office to rely on unsubstantiated figures,” Samarasinghe told reporters. “The figures are similar to those on Tiger proxy Web sites. The army is not shelling into the safe zone for civilians.”
Government forces say they have trapped Tamil Tiger rebels into a narrow strip of coastal land in the northeastern district of Mullaittivu, where they hope to completely crush the guerrillas by next month.
Sri Lankan authorities have accused the Tigers of holding some 70,000 civilians hostage in the tiny territory still under their control as a human shield, a charge denied by the Tigers.
However, the UN estimates there are more people trapped by the fighting who are at great risk. The UN says a total of 150,000 to 180,000 civilians remain cornered in an ever-shrinking area of territory under rebel control.
“Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the LTTE [Tamil Tiger rebels] may constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,” Pillay said in a statement.
“We need to know more about what is going on, but we know enough to be sure the situation is absolutely desperate. The world today is ever sensitive about such acts that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she added.
The statement said credible sources told the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that more than 2,800 civilians might have been killed, including hundreds of children, and more than 7,000 injured since Jan. 20.
Many of the casualties were inside areas designated as safe “no-fire” zones by the Sri Lankan government, the OHCHR statement added.
“The current level of civilian casualties is truly shocking, and there are legitimate fears that the loss of life may reach catastrophic levels, if the fighting continues in this way,” Pillay said.
“The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible, and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes,” she added.
The government bars most journalists and aid workers from the north of the island, meaning the claims cannot be confirmed.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a swift halt to the conflict to avoid further civilian casualties after the International Red Cross said in January that “hundreds” had been killed.
The Burmese junta has said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health,” a day after her son said he has received little information about the 80-year-old’s condition and fears she could die without him knowing. In an interview in Tokyo earlier this week, Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS