New documentary shows Sri Lanka 'war crimes'

[Jefferson23]

UK calls for probe after British programme appears to show executions of Tamil prisoners by troops at end of civil war.

Last Modified: 15 Jun 2011 09:59

Britain's foreign ministry says Sri Lanka must look into new allegations of war crimes, or face possible international action, after a video of the apparent killing of Tamil prisoners by government forces was aired in a UK documentary.
The Channel 4 programme also showed the bodies of female Tamil fighters who appeared to have
been sexually assaulted by government forces.

"I was shocked by the horrific scenes," said Alistair Burt, a minister from the UK's foreign ministry.

Burt said on Wednesday that a failure to probe the claims of human rights abuses at the end of the
26-year war with fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could lead to international action against Colombo.

The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president, says the video material is fabricated.

In video (at link)

Sri Lankan MP responds to footage alleging war crimes near the end of civil war


"Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" was aired on Tuesday and appeared to show the summary execution of Tamil prisoners by government soldiers during the end of the civil war in 2009.


Shot by a mobile phone, it specifically shows the apparent execution of three tied up Tamil prisoners including a woman.

Much of it is filmed by Tamil civilians, herded into so-called "no fire zones", and then allegedly fired upon en masse.

The documentary also cited witnesses describing the aftermath of the alleged shelling of hospitals in designated "safe zones.

in full: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/06/201161544259318547.html