Sri Lankan army continues probe on war allegations

COLOMBO, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Sri Lankan army court of inquiry is continuing its investigations into allegations raised against the military over its conduct during the final stages of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels, the army said Wednesday.

Sri Lankan army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that the Court of Inquiry is expected to complete its proceedings soon.

An army board appointed by Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasooriya recently handed over a report on some of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

However the army spokesman said that the Court of Inquiry was separate from the Board and those investigations were still continuing.

"The Court of Inquiry is looking into the allegations raised against the army while the Board of Inquiry which had completed its sittings recently had looked into the recommendations of the LLRC," the army spokesman said.

The Board of Inquiry concluded in the report that the government had every right to defeat the LTTE militarily.

The Court of Inquiry of the army which has already recorded statements from several military officials is looking into allegations raised by human rights groups and others that soldiers may have committed human rights abuses during the conflict.

The Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated in May 2009 after a 30- year conflict after the Sri Lankan government launched military operations to regain land held by the rebels despite calls by the international community to suspend hostilities and go for negotiations.

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