Sri Lanka military to share war tips at forum

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Sri Lanka's army Wednesday announced plans to share with other countries its success in crushing ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels and ending the island's 37-year-old separatist war.

Army chief Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said they were inviting heads of military and defence establishments in 54 countries to a three-day forum starting in Colombo from May 31.

"After the war ended many countries have requested us to share some of our strategies with them," Jayasuriya told reporters in Colombo. "They want us to share our experience and expertise with them."

Many field commanders will make presentation at the forum titled "defeating terrorism -- the Sri Lankan experience," Jayasuriya said.

"The objective is to tell the whole story to the world. We have nothing to hide," he said.

Sri Lanka's military campaign has been marred by allegations of war crimes by both sides and provoked US-led calls for an independent international investigation.

The United Nations has estimated that at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of fighting while three international rights groups have placed the figure at more than 30,000.

Sri Lanka insists that it was involved in a "humanitarian operation" to free Tamil civilians dominated by the Tiger rebels and claims that no civilian was killed by its forces.

Colombo has refused to allow any foreign investigation into the military crack down. Fighting between 1972 and May 2009 is estimated to have claimed up to 100,000 lives, according to UN estimates.

© AFP