A top U.S. official has urged Sri Lanka to address allegations of war crimes in a report on its civil war due to be released this year.
The call from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake comes just days after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a expert report to the U.N. Human Rights Council that concluded that tens of thousands of people were killed in the last five months of the war, primarily by government troops.
Blake said Wednesday that the U.N. decision underlines the need for accountability for those who violated international humanitarian law.
The U.S. has repeatedly warned Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations stemming from the final months of the 26-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels. The government has denounced the U.N. report