Refugee
Sri Lankan is under pressure over repeated allegations of war crimes committed during its war against the pro-independence Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The war, which lasted nearly three decades, ended with the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. An estimated 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the first five months of 2009 alone.
A panel of experts appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon concluded that the bulk of these deaths were due to the bombardment of Tamil civilians by government forces. The panel recommended the setting up of an international investigative body.
To avoid this possibility and placate international concerns over the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Army, the Sri Lankan government set up its own enquiry, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
