Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a “Compassionate Council”, composed of Buddhist monks and other religious leaders, will decide on whether those accused of international humanitarian law violations would be granted amnesty.

Speaking to the Straits Times Mr Wickremesinghe said the “bulk of cases” will be dealt with by a Truth Commission. “And from there starts the role of the Compassionate Council,” he said. “They will be the key people.”

Sri Lanka’s Security Forces Commander-West, Major General Ubaya Medawela has been appointed as the Military Adviser at the Office of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York.

The commander is set to join the mission by the end of this month reports Daily Mirror.

He has previously commanded 554 Infantry Brigade in Jaffna and was the General Officer Commanding of Sri Lanka's infamous 53 Division.

The 53 Division is accused of the summary execution of prisoners on May 18 2009, during the final hours of the armed conflict. Amongst those thought to have been killed by the troops include Tamil journalist Isaipriya (See more from Channel 4 here and Human Rights Watch here).

The former military spokesperson has staunchly denied accusations of human rights abuses by Sri Lankan troops, having previously declared "the Sri Lankan military did not commit any war crimes".

He has also rejected video footage shown by Channel 4 News of summary executions of Tamils committed by Sri Lankan soldiers, stating that there were “malicious intentions behind the doctored documentary of Channel 4".

The European Union called for new election laws that allowed for domestic and international observers to observe all stages of the electoral process.

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) Chief Observer Cristian Preda in a press conference on Saturday said,

“The electoral law could be reviewed to allow direct campaigning; to develop parties finance rules to ensure a level field between candidates; and to require that the parties nominate candidates for the national list seats before elections, so that voters can anticipate the result of their votes.”

A police station in Jaffna has been surrounded by military forces who are demanding the release of Sri Lankan military soldiers recently arrested for stealing materials belonging to locally owned businesses.

Tensions around the police station in Chavakacheri Jaffna are rising after it was surrounded by military personnel demanding the release of the detained soldiers this evening.