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Colombo: Sri Lanka’s president has appointed a general accused by the United Nations of war crimes to the country’s second-highest army ranking, evoking outcry from rights groups.
Major General Shavendra Silva, who commanded an army division accused of gross abuses against civilians during Sri Lanka’s civil war, formally assumed duties as Chief of Staff of the army on Thursday.
Sri Lanka’s armed forces crushed the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in 2009 in a no-holds barred offensive that ended a 37-year war that left 100,000 people dead.
The final days of the conflict saw mass atrocities against civilians in Sri Lanka’s predominantly Tamil north.
The UN, in a report into the allegations, named Silva as playing a major role in orchestrating war crimes. (AFP)
Major General Shavendra Silva, who commanded an army division accused of gross abuses against civilians during Sri Lanka’s civil war, formally assumed duties as Chief of Staff of the army on Thursday.
Sri Lanka’s armed forces crushed the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in 2009 in a no-holds barred offensive that ended a 37-year war that left 100,000 people dead.
The final days of the conflict saw mass atrocities against civilians in Sri Lanka’s predominantly Tamil north.
The UN, in a report into the allegations, named Silva as playing a major role in orchestrating war crimes. (AFP)
