UN asks Sri Lanka to answer new war crime charges: Colombo

The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to explain allegations by a retired army general that surrendering Tamil rebel leaders were killed in cold blood in mid-May, the government said on Monday.

The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to explain allegations by a retired army general that surrendering Tamil rebel leaders were killed in cold blood in mid-May, the government said on Monday.

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The presidency said the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, had asked for an explanation of what had happened to three rebel leaders and their families who wanted to surrender.

"The government is making a careful study of the UN Rapporteur's letter, prior to a formal response, and any action that may be necessary," the president's office said in a statement.