A key minister in the Sirisena-government has spoken out about continued intimidation of human rights activists by security forces, and said he was "ashamed" to be part of the ruling coalition.

Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganesan told family members of the disappeared at a meeting in Akkaraipattu, Amparai, that the organisers of the meeting, Brito Fernando and another activist, were intimidated by the military, JDS reported.

“We have been threatened by police and military intelligence during the former regime while campaigning for justice for the families of the disappeared. I am ashamed to be a minister in a government that came to power promising to end such intimidation,” said Mano Ganesan, who is one of the few Tamil ministers in the current government.

Former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillaiyan, was further remanded until April 28, in relation to the assassination of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham.

Another bail application filed on Friday was denied by Batticaloa magistrates court.

He was initially arrested on October 11 in connection with the killing of the Tamil politician, who was shot dead on Christmas Eve in 2005.  His next court hearing will take place on April 28.

A group of Tamil students at the Uva Wellawassa University were attacked by Sinhala students on Wednesday.

The Tamil students at the university, which is in the Sinhala south, suffered injuries and were hospitalised. Two are said to have suffered head injuries.

The Sinhala group was lead by a student leader from Gampaha, local sources told the Tamil Guardian.

This is the second attack by Sinhala students on Tamil students this month.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has reaffirmed that the touted constitutional change in the country should not affect the unitary nature of the state.

Speaking at a seminar by the USAID-funded Sri Lanka Parliament Project, Mr Wickremesinghe said the new constitution will come into effect in 2017.

His pledge to maintain Sri Lanka's unitary status is a blow for the Tamil National Alliance, which has pushed for the non-unitary constitution and a federal setup of the state, with extensive devolution to a merged North-East. Sri Lankan officials had already ruled out a re-merger of the provinces.

The prime minister said there was no issue with the present system, but it needed to be explored how it will be strengthened without affecting the unitary status and the sovereignty of the country.

“Many countries have devolved power in various ways, the US in one way, India in a different way and Britain in another way. We can do our own thing. We have to think of whether we are going to centre power in ministries; We will have to think about de-centralizing power as well and include this in the constitution,” he said.

A Sri Lankan army soldier has been arrested on Wednesday over the kidnap and sexual abuse of a Tamil schoolgirl in Jaffna, two weeks after her disappearance.

The parents of the 16 year old girl had reported her as missing two weeks ago, when they registered her disappearance with Chavakachcheri police.

After the police launched search operations, the girl was eventually found held at a home belonging to a Sri Lankan soldier in Maravanpulavu. Police report that she had been sexually abused.

Sri Lankan security forces have stepped up their presence in Jaffna following the recovery of a cache of explosives, including an apparent suicide bomber vest on Tuesday evening.

The discovery, made in the village of Maravanpulavu, was made following an anonymous tip off regarding illegal drug storage at the property, claimed Sri Lankan police.

A 31 year old man who lived in the property, named as Edward Jude Sebastian, was arrested by Kilinochchi police the following day, after he fled from Jaffna. He is currently being interrogated by Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Department (TID), who have reported him to be a former LTTE cadre.

His father and wife, who also lived at the house in Jaffna, have also been detained and are currently being questioned.

Sri Lankan police claimed to have recovered a suicide bomber jacket alongside 12 kg of explosives, which was hidden and wrapped in a Sinhala language newspaper. They also recovered 4 claymore mines, over 100 9mm bullets and 5 different mobile phone sim cards.

The incident sparked outrage in the South, with former Sri Lankan foreign minister G L Peiris saying this “should not be considered as an isolated incident”.

UPDATED: 1455 GMT

A group of Tamil students have been hospitalised following an attack by a mob of Sinhala students at the Uva Wellawassa University on Wednesday, as racial tension continued to flare up across the campus.

The attack, which was reportedly unprovoked, took place just outside the canteen at the university, which is situated in the Sinhala south. The Tamil students, who are in their second year of study, had been sat watching the cricket world cup with their colleagues. As they walked out of the canteen, they were all assaulted. Several third and fourth year Tamils students who attempted to intervene were also injured in the attack. Seven students have since been admitted into Badulla hospital due to the extent of their injuries.

When asked to identify their attackers, the fear of further provocations prevented many of the Tamil students from speaking out. Despite this, reports have named second year Export Agriculture student Dhammika Prasad from Gampaha as one of the key ringleaders of the attack.

There is still an air of tension over the campus today, with the alleged attackers reportedly collecting the addresses of the Tamil students and continuing to shout anti-Tamil slurs at passers by.

There seems to be no immediate trigger for the incident, which has left Tamil students in the town in fear of venturing out into public. At the university though,  Tamil students report a history of animosity and tension at the campus.

The Sri Lankan president’s repeated refusal to allow international participation in an accountability mechanism calls into question his governments "sincerity and trustworthiness,” said Human Rights Watch’s Asia director.

Responding to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s repeated remarks that no foreign judges will be involved in an accountability mechanism for mass atrocities, Brad Adams told The Sunday Leader,

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal said on Monday that while Sri Lanka is on a path to reconciliation, much remains to be done on justice and accountability.

Speaking on US policies and priorities for 2016 at the Center for New American Security , Ms Biswal said Sri Lanka is on a path to reconciliation.

"Sri Lanka, which is rebalancing its own foreign and economic policy as it emerges from its self-imposed isolation, will benefit from its strategic location as a maritime gateway to some of the largest markets in Asia [...],"

"[It] deserves special attention as it continues to consolidate democratic gains in the past two elections and put the country on a path to reconciliation. The United States was among the first to welcome these moves and offer our support and assistance. Both Secretary Kerry and Ambassador Power visited last year – and I myself visited four times in 2015 – and this year we launched our first-ever Partnership Dialogue,"