Press Colombo to allow war crimes probe: Amnesty to India

India must press Colombo to allow an independent international probe into the alleged war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

Sri Lanka's Northern Provincial Council Jan 27 passed a resolution calling for an international investigation into alleged war crimes, Amnesty said.

Elections for the Northern Provincial Council were held in September 2013 in which the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) came to power.

"An elected body of representatives calling for an international probe shows how little faith some people in Sri Lanka have in any domestic mechanism," said G. Ananthapadmanabhan, chief executive, Amnesty International India.

"India must take note of this resolution and press Sri Lanka at every opportunity to conduct an independent international investigation into all allegations of crimes under international law committed by Sri Lankan government forces as well as the LTTE," he said.

The rights body said there was substantial evidence that in the last months of the 2009 war, Sri Lankan government forces and the LTTE have committed war crimes.

"India must keep the pressure on Sri Lanka to do the right thing, accept an international investigation and cooperate with it," Ananthapadmanabhan added.

The Tamil Tigers controlled most parts of the country's north for nearly 30 years. The Sri Lanka army defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009.