Sri Lankan officials are rejecting claims that the government may havecommitted war crimes during intense fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels inrecent weeks.
Sri Lanka's human rights minister, MahindaSamarasinghe, on Saturday rejected charges by the U.N.'s human rightschief that both sides in the civil war are responsible for the deathsof up to 2,800 civilians since January, many of them inside no-firezones.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay,said Friday that Sri Lanka's military has repeatedly shelled safezones. She also accused rebels of holding civilians as human shields.
Samarasinghe called the charges "unsubstantiated" and denied the government had shelled civilian safe zones.
TheUnited Nations says 150,000 to 180,000 civilians are trapped in ashrinking area of rebel territory in northeastern Sri Lanka'sMullaitivu district. Sri Lanka's government has put the figure at70,000 civilians.
On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State HillaryClinton telephoned Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to expressU.S. concern over the loss of life in Sri Lanka's government-designated"safe zone." She also condemned the actions of the Tamil rebels.
SriLanka's government says it is on the verge of defeating the TamilTigers. The ethnic minority rebels have been fighting for anindependent homeland since 1983.