SC Orders Army To Stop Night Raids In Residential Areas

by Nilanjana Bhowmick

(January, 08,Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Supreme Court on Monday ordered security authorities to stop night raids in residential areas. The order was passed following a petition by a human rights group that accused the raids of intimidating residents.

Last week London-based Minority Rights Group International had said that the revoking of the truce with the Tamil rebels will result in an escalation of violence and rights abuses against civilians.

Mark Lattimer, director of the group told AFP, "There is now going to be a greater void in the monitoring and reporting of human rights abuses in the conflict zone."

The court also ordered the police to release suspects swiftly and to be present during army search operations.

Sri Lanka has been under Emergency rule since 2006, which has given security forces the power to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial.

Meanwhile violence has escalated in the country since the truce between the government and the authorities was revoked last week.

In four days of fighting that ensued in the north, the casualty has risen to 85.

The European Union said that "without the cease fire agreement the prospects of negotiating a lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict in sri Lanka are narrowed further," reports International Herald Tribune.