A Sri Lanka Army officer has given Channel 4 his account of how, following orders from Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the commander of the 58 Division, Brigadier Shavendra Silva (now Major General) gathered his officers in the closing days of the war and ordered them to take no prisoners when capturing the remainder of the enclave in which thousands of Tamils civilians and fighters were surrounded.
This is what Brig. Silva, now Sri Lanka’s representative to the UN in New York, told his gathered troops:
“This is a very decisive day for us because last night I got a call from the defence secretary. He told me that we only have a small chunk of land left to capture. Do whatever it takes- finish it off the way it has to be done."
The officer also told Channel 4: "We received orders from the top to kill some of those who surrendered. All regiments received the orders unofficially - from the top."
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