Remove heads of armed forces: Sri Lanka ex-army chief

Sri Lanka's former army commander Tuesday called for the removal of the commanders of the three armed forces, alleging that they were involved in a coup attempt a day after last month's presidential election.

Speaking to reporters in Colombo, former army commander Sarath Fonseka urged the country's new government to take disciplinary action against the commanders of the country's army, navy and air force for their alleged involvement in the coup attempt by the previous government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa, Xinhua news agency reported.

Fonseka recently received a presidential pardon by newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena after being jailed and isolated under the previous leadership.

He was court-martialled by a military court in 2010 and sentenced to 30 months in prison and stripped off ranks, titles and medals for illegal procurement when he was in charge of the army.

Fonseka, who was the army commander at the time Sri Lanka ended its 30-year civil war, fell out with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa after he challenged Rajapaksa in the 2010 presidential election.

He was imprisoned soon after but received a pardon by Rajapaksa in 2012. He however remained sidelined since then.

The newly elected Sri Lanka government has already lodged a complaint against several members of the former government, including former president Rajapaksa, for allegedly plotting a coup in the early hours of Jan 9, after initial results revealed the victory of President Sirisena.

Sri Lanka's former foreign minister and several other members have already been questioned by the island's police over the alleged coup attempt.