Amnesty calls for new Tamil probe

Amnesty International said that an impartial probe is vital so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.

A UN report accused officials and member states of being reluctant to interfere to stop abuses, particularly as the Sri Lankan government was able to cast its bloody crackdown on the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) as a fight against terrorism.

Wednesday's Internal Review Panel report accuses officials of being too eager to side with the government and talk down reports of civilian casualties.

It examined the bloody final stages of the three-decade-long war between secessionist Tamils and the Sri Lankan government in 2009.

An earlier report found that there were credible allegations of war crimes against both sides.

Amnesty said it has evidence that the LTTE used civilians as human shields and intensified conscription of child soldiers as the army approached.

And it said the army had directed civilians into a "no-fire zone" before shelling the densely populated area.

Amnesty UN office head Jose Luis Diaz called the report a "wake-up call" and said there was no evidence that the government's "lack of will to protect civilians" had changed.

UN secreary-general Ban Ki Moon pledged the organisation would learn from its failings.