At least six dead bodies have been spotted floating off the coast of Trincomalee on Sunday, reported the Sri Lankan harbour police.

Trincomalee harbour police informed the Sri Lankan navy about the finding, who reportedly launched a search operation on Sunday evening.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe brushed off claims that his government had come under pressure to sign the Rome Statue and join the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Colombo Gazette reported the prime minister as saying,

“No one can put pressure on us and no one has put pressure on us”.

He went on to state that Sri Lanka would not be joining the ICC and reports of mass atrocities, as outlined in a UN report earlier this year, would be addressed through a domestic accountability mechanism.

Sri Lanka has recently announced that it will create a new court to examine abuses which allegedly transpired during the country's civil war. The government has noted that this is going to be a domestic mechanism, but hasn't ruled out the possibility of some international involvement. The abrupt announcement of this special court came as a surprise to many. Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga has stated that the court will commence its work either later this month or in January.