The Urban Development Authority ordered that recent development work at a 60-year-old Pillaiyar temple in Trincomalee be demolished, citing the need for "road development work".

The Urban Development Authority is under the Ministry of Defence, overseen by the President’s brother Gothbaya Rajapakse.

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Minority Rights Groups International said in a statement it was very concerned about the recent attack on a mosque in Sri Lanka by a Singhalese mob.

Cluster bombs found in Mullaiththeevu, January 2009. Courtesy of TamilNet

The confirmation comes after a young boy was killed and his sister injured after trying to prise apart explosive device for scrap metal to sell.

Cluster munitions are packed with small “bomblets” that break up upon release, spreading over a large area. They often indiscriminately harm civilians, lying unexploded long after their initial deployment, leading to them coming under intense international scrutiny.

In an email on Tuesday written by Allan Poston, the technical adviser for the U.N. Development Program's mine action group in Sri Lanka, he states,

“After reviewing additional photographs from the investigation teams, I have determined that there are cluster sub-munitions in the area where the children were collecting scrap metal and in the house where the accident occurred. This is the first time that there has been confirmed unexploded sub-munitions found in Sri Lanka,"

"Cluster sub-munitions are extremely dangerous items of (unexploded ordnance) and can explode with the slightest movement or touch,"

Sri Lankan government spokesman Lakshman Hulugalla immiediately said the military had not used cluster munitions.

"We are denying that information," he said.

Two children were killed by a landmine blast in Pazhai, Jaffna on Wednesday.

Thamilkumaran Mukunthan, 4, and his 2 year old brother Thanujan were killed after playing with a unexploded ordnance found near their house.

One child died on the spot and the other died on the way to hospital.

A Sri Lankan army soldier attacked and attempted to rape a 16 year old Tamil girl in the Nedungeeni area of Mullaitheevu district on Monday, reports Tamilwin.

No sooner had the cross-party Indian delegation, led by the opposition Lok Sabha leader Sushma Swaraj, left Sri Lanka than the Sri Lankan government began refuting Indian press reports that the president had assured Swaraj of implementing the 13th Amendment and going beyond.

Sri Lankan Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya has backtracked from statements made by him at an event in Kurunegala.

According to the Daily Mirror the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Army has said there was an error on the Sri Lankan Army website in regards to his speech and has amended it accordingly.

Sri Lanka's security and intelligence agencies launched a search operation in the Eastern province looking for 'ex-LTTE cadres' who had returned from overseas, the Daily Mirror reports.

President Mahinda Rajapakse ‘personally’ instructed the Sri Lankan military to pursue the military operations in 2009, despite enormous international pressure, the army commander has revealed.

Speaking to soldiers at an event in Kurunegala, the head of the Sri Lankan Army Jagath Jayasuriya said President Rajapakse was ‘determined’ to see the operations through till the end.

Addressing the UK House of Commons last week, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Mordem, Siobhain McDonagh, questioned the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs’ decision not to declare Major General Prasanna Silva persona non grata.

McDonagh said,

"Three months ago a dossier about war crimes committed by the defence attaché at Sri Lanka’s high commission in London, Major General Prasanna De Silva, was sent to the Foreign Office. However, the Foreign Secretary has reportedly refused to strip him of diplomatic immunity so that he can be questioned about these terrible accusations."

"I hope we can have a debate about the case and about the abuse of diplomatic immunity, because if the attaché is allowed to leave without being questioned, that will undermine Britain’s proud reputation for not tolerating war criminals."

"If we are soft on Sri Lanka, other shady regimes will surely also begin to regard us as a refuge for people who commit atrocities."

The Sri Lankan government has decided to demolish a mosque and a Saiva temple located in a Buddhist sacred area.

Thousands of Singhalese, led by Buddhist monks, attacked the mosque in Dambulla on Friday, calling for its destruction as it was constructed illegally. The protest only dispersed after officials promised an answer by Monday.