Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka (pictured), who led the 2009 victory over Tamil Tiger rebels, was convicted by a court martial Friday and stripped of his rank and medals. A separate court is still hearing corruption charges against him.
Sri Lanka is holding its first presidential election since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May 2009. The battle brought to an end the rebels' 37 year fight for a separate Tamil homeland. But ironically, it's the Tamil community who could now decide who becomes the country's next president.
Sri Lankan officials say thousands of civilians held in detention camps since the military offensive against Tamil rebels earlier this year have been freed. Many whose villages were wiped out during the fighting are expected to remain displaced.
Sarath Fonseka (pictured), the Sri Lankan general who ended the Tamil Tigers' almost three-decade-long struggle for independence, announced on Sunday that he would challenge the president in a January election.
Sri Lanka's government has pledged to let tens of thousands of civilians displaced during the war with the Tamil Tigers move freely between refugee camps until their permanent re-settlement, to be completed by the end of January.
Sri Lanka's army chief, who oversaw the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May, has resigned amid speculation that he will run for president in an election possibly slated for early 2010.
Amid questions over the fate of Sri Lanka’s war refugees, UN undersecretary-general for political affairs, Lynn Pascoe (right), voiced “strong concerns” that the government had been slow to resettle displaced civilians.
The United Nations has told Sri Lanka that it is worried about reports of mistreatment of two of its staffers arrested in Sri Lanka and held without charge since June, suspected by the government of working with Tamil separatist rebels.
Sri Lankan authorities have ordered a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to leave the country within two weeks, accusing him of "propaganda" in favour of the defeated Tamil Tigers rebels in his interviews with the media.
The UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions has urged the Sri Lankan government to set up an independent inquiry into a video allegedly showing Sri Lankan troops executing prisoners. (WARNING: video contains disturbing images.)
