UN chief calls on Sri Lanka to loosen army's grip

UN chief Ban Ki-moon Friday toured Sri Lanka's former killing fields and met with war-battered minority Tamils after urging Colombo to reduce the army's presence to ease tensions following decades of ethnic bloodshed. The UN secretary general held talks with the main opposition politicians in the northern town of Jaffna, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Colombo on the final leg of the two-day visit. Dozens of Tamil civilians held pictures of their loved ones still unaccounted for seven years after the war ended and staged a silent demonstration outside the Jaffna public library where Ban met with local politicians.

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