Sri Lanka Denies Times' Allegations About Civilian Deaths

Yesterday, I posted about an investigation by the Times that found that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war. This number is three times higher than the government's official figure.

The government of Sri Lanka has responded by denying these allegations.

A senior official from Sri Lanka's Centre for National Security, Laksham Hullegalle said there had been no shelling or killing in the zone, and that the photographs were "totally unbelievable".

"The decision was taken by the government not to use any heavy weapons from the beginning of this month," he said.

"From that time onwards there was no heavy shelling."

Mr Hullegalle said there was a possibility the photos were fake and that there had been no corroborating evidence from civilians who fled the area and no bodies discovered.

The Permanent Secretary to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Palitha Kohona, also dismissed the report.

"I am bemused that The Times, like a jilted old woman, is continuing a bitter campaign against Sri Lanka based on unverified figures and unsubstantiated assertions," he said.

"The simple fact is that Sri Lanka eliminated a detestable terrorist group and in the process rescued over 250,000 hostages held as a human shield by the terrorists."