The Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Lt Gen Daya Ratnayake has ordered a probe into the alleged involvement of soldiers in a contract killing in Wellawa, according to Colombo Gazette.

Three soldiers are alleged to have murdered the husband of a woman, who paid them Rs 2mn, and were remanded by Kurunegala Court.

The Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police will conduct an investigation into the involvement of the three soldiers.

The Sri Lankan will send a “friendly and sympathetic” NGO to watch Sri Lanka’s interest at the probe by the OHCHR, mandated at last month’s UNHRC session, reported The Sunday Island.

Diplomatic sources told the paper that although the Sri Lankan government had rejected the resolution, it would send the NGO to represent its interests during the probe.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered External Affairs Minister GL Peiris to look into formulating laws to monitor the funding of foreign NGOs, reported the Daily News.

The laws would be enacted to monitor the entire process, including auditing and accountability for these NGOs so that they don’t act in a manner “inimical to the state”, the president said at a meeting for news paper editors.

The University of Jaffna’s Student Union condemned the military's search operation within student residences, demanding an immediate end to all military activities, which the student body said were causing disruptions to the University's academic life. 

“That the security forces – who have been repressing all our rights to freedom of expression under the excuse of terrorism – are entering and searching without any apparent reason has created fear among the students,” the student body said in a statement issued Friday.

Military intelligence officers conducted a search operation at the men's hostel at the University of Jaffna on Thursday. A large number of armed soldiers were deployed in the area following the incident, leaving students and locals alarmed, local sources told the Uthayan.

Describing it as a breach of security that has created a tense atmosphere around the campus, the student body criticised the university administration for remaining mute on the subject.

Their silence has caused students to question the administration's ability and commitment to protecting its students, the Union said.

The Union stated that despite the government’s claims of peace, terrorism laws continued to be used to terrorise the Tamil population.

Jaffna police force has launched an action plan to recruit more Tamil women into the force across the Northern Province, the district's superintendent told journalists at a weekly press briefing on Friday.

"Since the day I came to office, civilians have complained about a lack of female officers at police stations in Jaffna [and] we have found this problem exists not only in Jaffna, but all over the Northern Province in my investigations," the Uthayan quoted the superintendent as saying.

"In order to address this issue, actions are being taken to recruit Tamil women into the police," he said.

"Once we receive 500 applications, a training centre will be established in the Northern Province," the superintendent added.

Rejecting widespread reports of intimidation, abuse and sexual violence against Tamil women recruited into Sri Lanka's security forces, he said,

"There is a prejudice amongst the people that female recruits are harassed by senior officials. Those who wish to join the police can speak to female police officers in your regions and clarify your doubts."

Concerns around the targeted recruitment of Tamil women by security forces have persisted however, with several NGOs reporting coercion and incidents of sexual abuse.

Last month a 23 year old army recruit reported being forced into having sexual intercourse with 10 high ranking officials, along side other Tamil female recruits.