report concluded there were `` credible allegations , which , if proven , indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE -LRB- rebels -RRB- , some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity . '' In the war 's final stage , which lasted from September 2008 to May 2009 , the Sri Lankan army advanced into an area of northern Sri Lanka known as the Vanni , where about 330,000 people were trapped by fighting . The report said the government used `` large-scale and widespread shelling '' that left many civilians dead . Some of the shelling happened in no-fire zones where the government had encouraged civilians to congregate , the report said . Government forces also shelled a U.N. hub and food distribution lines and fired near International Committee of the Red Cross ships that were picking up the wounded , the report said . The government also shelled hospitals on the front lines , some of them repeatedly , the report said . `` Most civilian casualties in the final phases
Colombo , Sri Lanka -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Sri Lanka 's response to a scathing United Nations report alleging war crimes and human rights violations has reached the president 's desk . President Mahinda Rajapaksa received the 400-page document on Sunday night . The response , compiled by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission , will be presented to Parliament , though Rajapaksa did not say when . At their president 's urging , Sri Lankans took to the streets in May to rail against the U.N. report , which cites `` credible allegations '' that crimes were committed by both sides during the final stages of the country 's civil war . A three-member U.N. panel recommended that Sri Lanka immediately conduct an investigation into the alleged violations of international law . Human rights groups have already alleged both government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels violated humanitarian laws and that thousands of civilians were killed during the war , which ended in May 2009 after the government declared victory . The rebels had fought a 26-year bloody separatist war that left thousands dead and large numbers of others internally displaced , according to the United Nations . The U.N.