Sri Lanka’s newly appointed chief of staff, who is accused of playing a leading role in the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians and breaking international law, warned that the military “was watching the country’s security situation carefully,” according to a report in The Island.
Speaking to reporters after visiting senior Buddhist monks and praying at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Major General Shavendra Silva, reportedly also added the military was continuing to recruit new troops “in keeping with manpower needs”.
The Island added that Silva was blessed by a senior Buddhist monk from the Malwatte chapter “for his outstanding service during the country’s war on terror”, whilst another leading monk from the Asgiriya chapter advised him to “vigilant over the incidents taking place in some parts of the country at present”.
See more from The Island here.
There continues to be international outrage at the appointment of Silva to the army’s second highest post, with criticism from several Tamil diaspora groups and human rights organisations.
Silva has been dubbed the “most wanted man in Sri Lanka” by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) with calls for him to face prosecution for his involvement in the massacres that saw hospitals shelled and surrendering Tamils executed.
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