Army decided to recall Lt. Col. Kalana Amunupure from Mali

25 October 2018 06:23 pm

Sri Lanka Army today said it has decided to recall Commander of its 200-strong contingent assigned to the UN peacekeeping force in Mali, Lieutenant Colonel Kalana Amunupura in response to the request made by the United Nations.

Earlier, the UN asked the Sri Lankan Government to repatriate Lieutenant Colonel Amunupura owing to alleged involvement in war crimes.

“It is pertinent to place on record that  appointment of Lt. Col. Amunupure was agreed by the UN itself after the Sri Lanka Army forwarded the names of four nominees in the year 2016 before the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (SLHRC) was entrusted the task of vetting service personnel, bound for UN assignments in December 2017 as advised by the UN,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army said that at that stage the UN had cleared Lieutenant Colonel  Amunupura for the appointment of the Commander of Combat Convoy Company in Mali (MINUSMA) dropping all three other nominees.

Meanwhile, the Army  confirmed that there was no any involvement of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (SLHRC) in recalling Lieutenant Colonel Kalana Amunupura in question.