Sri Lanka general axed from UN panel

Sri Lanka’s deputy UN ambassador has been dropped from a group advising Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on payment to troops participating in UN peacekeeping operations. The group’s chair, former UN deputy secretary-general Louise Frechette, said in a statement Wednesday that after consulting other members she had advised Major General Shavendra Silva “that his participation is not appropriate or helpful.” Silva was a top commander during the final stages of the country’s civil war. Frechette gave no further explanation, but Silva headed Division 58, which was named in a UN report in connection with alleged war crimes. A call to Sri Lanka’s UN Mission early Wednesday evening seeking comment was not answered.