UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – Any credible accusation  of human rights violations committed during the final bloody  phase of Sri Lanka’s war against Tamil Tiger separatists should  be investigated, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday.

“I’d like to ask the Sri Lankan government to recognize the  international call for accountability and full transparency,”  Ban told reporters after he briefed the U.N. Security Council  on a trip to Sri Lanka where he visited refugee camps and flew  over the former conflict zone.

“Whenever and wherever there are credible allegations for  the violations of international humanitarian law there should  be a proper investigation,” he said.

Human rights groups have criticized the government for what  they say was a wanton disregard for human life during the final  months of the war by continuously using heavy artillery to  shell a tiny strip of land where the Tigers had retreated to  along with hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Ban and other U.N. officials accused the Liberation of  Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of holding the civilians hostage  and using them as human shields as they fought to hold on to  their sliver of coast in northeastern Sri Lanka.
The LTTE and Sri Lankan government have rejected the  charges.

U.N. officials say it is unclear how many civilians died  during the final phase of the war, which ended when the  government declared victory over the LTTE on May 18.

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes has said that several  thousand civilians were killed. Diplomatic sources have told  Reuters that the figure was probably higher than 10,000 but  below 20,000.