The Sri Lanka army yesterday denied allegations it used chemical weapons during the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels.
A new video aired on an Indian television channel showed a man clad in army uniform describing how chemical weapons were used against the rebels during the final stages of the war, Xinhua reports.
Allegations over the use of chemical weapons by the army and the Tamil Tiger rebels had surfaced during the war but both sides rejected the allegations at the time.
Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that Sri Lanka army always used conventional weapons in its fight against terrorism and the latest allegation could be another fabrication or a speculation targeting the Geneva sessions.
“As you know Sri Lanka did not manufacture weapons or munitions and we procured our inventories from known suppliers through government to government interventions.
“The LTTE (rebels) however were known for their attempts at manufacturing arms and munitions and large stocks of chemicals were even recovered from their bases during search operations.
“The latest video is another attempt by some parties to sensationalise baseless allegation against the army in particular and the government in general. We reject such appalling attempts driven by vested interests,” the army spokesman said in response to the new video.
A British television channel had made public a video recently which alleges war crimes committed by the army. The army however denied the allegations.
