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UN fears Sri Lanka 'war crimes' UN fears Sri Lanka 'war crimes'
(21 minutes later)
The UN has said actions by Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels in their conflict could amount to war crimes. Actions by Sri Lanka's government and the Tamil Tiger rebels may amount to war crimes, the United Nations says.
UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the two warring sides to suspend hostilities immediately in the island's north-east.UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the two warring sides to suspend hostilities immediately in the island's north-east.
She warned the current level of civilian deaths was shocking and warned it could reach catastrophic levels. Describing the current level of civilian deaths as shocking, she warned it could reach catastrophic levels.
The government suggested the UN was using unreliable figures, while there was no immediate rebel reaction.
The army has pressed the rebels into a shrinking area amid heavy fighting.The army has pressed the rebels into a shrinking area amid heavy fighting.
The military says it is on its final offensive to capture the last Tamil Tiger strongholds. The military say they are on their final offensive to capture the last Tamil Tiger strongholds.
This is the UN's strongest message on the conflict so far, BBC Sri Lanka correspondent Anbarasan Ethirajan reports.
'Thousands dead or injured'
Ms Pillai accused government forces of repeatedly shelling safe zones set up to protect civilians, and also quoted reports of Tamil Tigers holding civilians as human shields and firing on those who tried to flee.
Such brutal treatment of civilians by the Tamil Tigers, she said, was reprehensible and should be examined to see if it constituted a war crime.
According to credible sources, the UN statement said, more than 2,800 civilians may have been killed and 7,000 others wounded in the fighting over the last two months.
Hundreds of children are believed to have died, she said, and more than a thousand injured.
The Sri Lankan minister for human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, told the BBC the government was surprised at the UN using what he called unsubstantiated figures about civilian casualties.