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Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara (left) said a forensics team left for Kabithigollewa village, 275 kilometres north of the capital Colombo, to investigate. -- PHOTO: AFP
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COLOMBO - MORE than a dozen unidentified bodies were found dumped in the jungle in northern Sri Lanka, a witness said.
A local resident said at least 17 bodies were seen by a villager who went into the jungle searching for his cattle. He spoke on condition of anonymity on Thursday citing fear of retribution.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said a forensics team left for Kabithigollewa village, 275 kilometres north of the capital Colombo, to investigate.
Brig. Nanayakkara would not say how many bodies were discovered, adding official comment would not be made until Friday.
Unexplained killings have increased in Sri Lanka since hostilities heightened between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels over the past two years. Bodies have been discovered burned beyond recognition, headless, blindfolded, and naked.
Human rights groups have accused Sri Lankan troops of summarily executing people suspected of having links to the insurgents, but the government has denied the allegations.
The Tamil rebels have also received widespread condemnation for allegedly abducting and killing civilians.
Seventeen aid workers from Action Against Hunger were found shot dead execution-style in August 2006.
Both the government and the rebels blamed each other for the killings. Investigators have been unable to identify any suspects.
The Tigers have fought Sri Lankan forces since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils after decades of discrimination by governments controlled by majority Sinhalese.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Twenty-one Tamil rebels and a soldier were killed in separate clashes in the north on Wednesday, the military said.
The fighting came as an All Party Representative Committee submitted an interim proposal for power sharing with minority Tamils to bring an end to the decades-long civil war.
The proposal looks at ways to implement power-sharing provisions already contained in the constitution since 1987, said Mr Tissa Witharana, a Cabinet minister and chairman of the committee.
Mr Witharana said his committee will also draft constitutional changes allowing substantial transfer of power to Tamil-majority regions in the north and east.
The rebels, who have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for minority Tamils on the island's north and east, have rejected the councils as inadequate.
Majority Sinhalese nationalists say previous peace negotiations and power-sharing efforts gave away too much to the Tamils. -- AP
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