UN call for S Lanka war crimes court

The United Nations (UN) has called for a special court to try war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan army's long conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.
In a long-delayed report, the UN Human Rights Council accused both sides of atrocities, especially during the final stages of the war in 2009.
The new court would have foreign judges and investigators, the report said. Sri Lanka has resisted such moves.
One UN estimate is that 40,000 Tamils died in the final army offensive.
Earlier this week Sri Lanka's new government unveiled plans to set up a truth and reconciliation commission to examine war crimes allegations, including those against the military.
Unveiling the report in Geneva, UN Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said only a special court with international magistrates and investigators would be up to the huge task of examining the allegations.
"Our investigation has laid bare the horrific level of violations and abuses that occurred in Sri Lanka, including indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, harrowing accounts of torture and sexual violence, recruitment of children and other grave crimes," he said.
The 26-year war left at least 100,000 people dead. There are still no confirmed figures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the last months of battle.
An earlier UN investigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people had been killed in the final five months alone. Others suggest the number of deaths could be even higher, according to BBC.

--Samir--