Since the end of the war, more than 5,000 Tamil youths have been gathering at selected police stations in Eastern Province to join the police force as the government has called for interviews. The Sri Lankan government had planned to recruit 2,000 new police officers to the department, especially for the services in the northern region of the country. [345] War crimes investigations [ edit ] On the contrary, Rajiva Wijesinha the permanent secretary to the Sri Lanka's Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, in June 2009 said that altogether 3,000 to 5,000 civilians may have been killed during the period. [312] In November 2011, threat specialist Rohan Gunaratna, estimated the number of civilian casualties to be 1,400 (1200 killed by army cross-fire and 200 by LTTE). His estimate is in part based on information obtained from captured LTTE cadres to which he had been granted access and from coroners working in and around the no-fire zone. [313] [314] In February 2012, the Sri Lankan government released an official estimate of civilian deaths in Northern Province, concluding that 8,649 people have died due to extraordinary circumstances (reasons other than ageing, diseases, natural disasters etc.), in 2009. [315] It also listed 2,635 people as untraceable. However the report did not differentiate civilians from the slain LTTE cadres. Several human rights groups have even claimed that the death toll in the last months of the war could be 70,000. The Sri Lankan government has denied all claims of causing mass casualties against Tamils, arguing that it was "taking care not to harm civilians". Instead, it has blamed the LTTE for the high casualty numbers, stating that they used the civilians as human shields. Both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE have been accused by the U.N for war crimes during the last phase of the war. Total Destruction of the Tamil Tigers: The Rare Victory of Sri Lanka's Long War. Pen and Sword. 19 March 2013. ISBN 9781783830749.

July 2009 - A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was killed and two wounded in a clash that erupted at Kiraankulam in Batticaloa lagoon area. A wounded LTTE soldier was also admitted in the hospital [292] On 3 November 2012, panel of 11 member International Experts, consisting of experts in genocide studies, former UN officials, experts in international law and renowned peace and human rights activists to be convened as Judges appointed by Permanent People's Tribunal to investigate and examine reports submitted by many specialised working groups on the accusation of the crime of Genocide against the Government of Sri Lanka. [387] [389]But this war is different. This one is for Dharma. This war is for the greatest Goddess of them all.

a b "Forces' Chiefs predict Tiger extinction in 2008". defence.lk. Ministry of Defence. 31 December 2007. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008 . Retrieved 31 December 2007. In February 2020, the US State Department and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that General Shavendra Silva, current commander of the Sri Lankan Army, was banned from entering the United States due to war crimes committed by the 53rd division of the Sri Lankan army, in which he has involvement through command responsibility. [381] [382] Sri Lankan military captures key rebel territory, Tigers vow to keep fighting". International Herald Tribune. 3 September 2006. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Bloody Day in Sri Lanka: 103 Dead". Zaman Daily. 17 October 2006. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. A panel of experts appointed by UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon to advise him on the issue of accountability with regard to any alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka found "credible allegations" which according to them, if proven, indicated that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers. [361] [362] [363] The panel has called on the UNSG to conduct an independent international inquiry into the alleged violations of international law. [364] The Sri Lankan government has denied that its forces committed any war crimes and has strongly opposed any international investigation. It has condemned the UN report as "fundamentally flawed in many respects" and "based on patently biased material which is presented without any verification". [365] The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, a formal commission of inquiry was appointed by the Sri Lankan President, to review the conflict from 1983 to 2009 and its report was tabled in the parliament. [366]

The final stages of the war created 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were transferred to camps in Vavuniya District and detained there against their will. [336] The camps were surrounded by barbed wire. This, together with the conditions inside the camps, attracted much criticism from inside and outside Sri Lanka. [337] After the end of the civil war President Rajapaksa gave assurances to foreign diplomats that the bulk of the IDPs would be resettled in accordance with the 180-day plan. [338] [339] By January 2012, almost all the IDPs had been resettled, except 6,554 from the Divisional Secretariats of Mullaitivu district, where the de-mining work was yet to be finished. [340] On 21 July 2008, the LTTE announced that it would be declaring a unilateral ceasefire from 28 July to 4 August, to coincide with the 15th summit of the heads of state of SAARC to be held in Colombo. [218] However, the government of Sri Lanka dismissed the LTTE's offer as needless and treacherous. [219] Significant military gains by the government [ edit ] Sisk, Timothy D. (21 November 2011). Between Terror and Tolerance: Religious Leaders, Conflict, and Peacemaking. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-1-58901-797-9. Government regains total control of former LTTE-controlled areas in the North and East of the country and Tamil Eelam gets reincorporated into Sri Lanka.