>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. mcarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now "bbc world news." >> the long awaited u.n. report finds credible evidence of war crimes on both sides during sri lanka's civil war. syrian troops launch a major crackdown against anti-government protesters in the south of the country. hundreds of talibanned a tunnel to escape from prison. the afghan government calls it a disaster. welcome to "bbc news" broadcast to viewers on pbs in america and also around the world. coming up, how villages in kate middle's home village are preparing for the royal wedding.

the united nations has published us long-awaited report intos of war crimes at the end of the civil war in sri lanka. the report says widespread shelling killed most of the tens of thousands of civilians who died in the final months of the war. it also accuses the tamil tigers rebels of using civilians as human shields and shooting those two tried to flee. the u.n. says both sides may have committed war crimes and has called for an independent investigation. our u.n. correspondent says the report clearly criticizes both sides in the conflict. >> that's right. some very harsh accusation against the sri lankan government and against the tamil tigers. things that many people have already been saying in the human rights community, but now it's put down in a report that was requested by the secretary-general. as you were saying, it accuses the government of widespread shalling of citizens, denying

humanitarian aid and access. it accuses the tamil tigers of using civilians as human sheelsd as a sort of buffer against the advancing troops of the government during the final months of the civil war, and as well, shooting those who tried to escape. and it says that these are credible allegations that could amount to war crimes, and it calls for an international investigation to determine whether they do. it's also critical of the united nations, it says that u.n. bodies, political bodies could have done more. they did not take -- they failed to take the kind of actions that might have helped to protect more civilians during the war. they also say that u.n. officials on the ground could have pressed the government harder, although they were lobbying for restraints, they could have done more in that respect. the secretary-general has also already said that he will take on the recommendation to launch a review of the u.n.'s actions. >> on that point, report findings are one thing, but how likely is it that a proper investigation may take place and

those responsible held to account? >> one of the key recommendation of the report is for an international investigation into the violations alleged here, and the secretary-general has actually already come out and said that he doesn't -- he's not able to constitute such an investigation without either consent from sri lanka, which is almost certainly not going to happen, because the sri lankans have objected very strongly to the report, or unless there's a -- the u.n. body such as the securities council, for example, would call for a probe. and that will be an interesting test coming up at this particular time because, as you're aware, the u.n. security council has been more active in recent weeks in terms of intervening to protect human rights such as in places like libya. on the issue of sri lanka, it's much more divided, so we'll have to wait and see whether that will prompt action.

>> u.n. reporting a sighting in sri lanka between the government forces and tamil tigers. will grant looks at the final months of the civil war back in 2009. >> for more than 25 years, fighting raged of a small region in the north and east of sri lanka as the tamil tigers rebels tried to form a acceptist tamil state. it brought great hardship on the economy of sri lanka. more than 300,000 people were trapped between the two sides, and tens of thousands were killed in the fighting. peace talks were held on no less than four separate occasions, but with little success. meanwhile, thousands ended up in u.n. refugee camps as the displaced population in sri lanka began to soar. in late 2001, there were signs of a peace deal being brokered and a tenuous cease fire held as

talks got under way in thailand and later in norway. however, by 2003, the tamils suspended further negotiations, citing anger over their treatment. by 2006, the tamils resumed their guerrilla activities, targeting locations in and around columbo. in the early months of 2009, the sri lankan military applied pressure on them. in 2009 with their leader dead, the tamil tigers admitted defeat. it is the lead-up to that which the u.n.'s report is focused on, with both the tamils and the government accused of serious homeland security violation. -- human rights violations. >> now that the report findings are out, those responsible should be held to account. >> this is certainly, this new

report by the panel of experts, is certainly an important start in that direction. as the previous speaker noted, really the sri lankan government has done nothing over the past two years. and what you have now is a carefully written professional report with hard-hitting conclusions, and it's important that the international community support secretary-general vaughn in taking up its recommendation. >> hard-hitting fight facts are one thing, but actual proper investigation and action with international consensus is another. we've already heard they previously opposed. what do you think will change now? >> well, i think it helps that this report is so well-done. it really puts the matter out there. you've had recent action by the united nations in other parts of the world that have been very

serious. here you have a situation where this panel of experts found that tens of thousands, perhaps 40,000 civilians died in the final months of the fighting. this is an incredibly serious, disturbing development, and it really cries out for there to be international action. and we hope the secretary-general pushes forward with this. but we recognize there will be some resistance. and it means governments that are concerned about accountability and justice push this forward, and others say maybe they should back away in this case. >> james speaking to me earlier. thousands of syrian troops have launched a major operation to crack down on anti-government demonstrators. tanked have been used and opposition activists in which 20,000 people have been killed. the worst violence is on deraa.

anna reports. >> the syrian government made it very clear today it will tolerate no dissent. extraordinary scenes as tanks rumbled down the streets of deraa, trying to seize the citibank from protesters. the army moved in in force, firing at demonstrators. these images which we cannot verify are said to have been recorded today on mobile phones. some brave enough to confront the tanks made it very clear what they think of the invading syrian army. >> early morning, we had received information from two people, that the army had circled the city. there were a number tanks at the time. there were six tanks that they could see, and always seen since then is the footage that a number of tv stations are playing. >> syria is trying to ruthlessly crush resistance. 5,000 troops are said to have been mobilized. there are reports of bodies lying in the streets and more people killed today, taking the

death toll to more than 350 since protests in syria began last month. syria has moved into a new, aggressive phase. it indicated last week that it was prepared to make concessions by removing a 50-year-old state of emergency. but conciliation was short-lived, and now the international community has joined in a chorus of condemnation for the violence crackdown. the president was once seen as a potentially new moderate force in syria, but the past few days have swept those thoughts away. tonight the u.s. has threatened to impose new sanctions on his family and the country's ruling elite. funerals have been taking place for people killed in the unrest. the government claims that the violence has been directed bay foreign conspiracy. activists say they've renewed protests on the outskirts of the capital damascus. there is no indication either

the syrian government or the protesters are prepared to give ground. the omens in this key meefrpb country are not good. >> italy joined the nato air campaign against libya. prime minister silvio berlusconi said the italian air force would take part in action against military targets in order to protect civilians as allowed by the united nations. the announcement follows the bombing in tripoli of a compound used by colonel gaddafi, which government officials there are describing as an attempt on the libyan leader's life. from the capital, ian reports. >> i'm standing at the scene where one of the missile strikes took place. you can see a car that's been blown clean into the security fence here. there's barbed wire there. up in the distance, there is a military position. that's because this is colonel gaddafi's compound. a huge area. you can see some of the devastation here. some of the debris spread out. that is one of the buildings

that was targeted, one of three buildings hit by at least three missile strikes we believe. you can see a scene of pretty much total devastation there. the roof has caved in. the walls have been blown out. as i say, there is debris everywhere. there's a lot of debate about exactly what was taking place in this building. nato contends it is targeting what it calls military command and control facilities. in other words, where the military campaign is being orchestrated. what the libyans are saying is that this building was only used for administrative purposes. in fact, i've spoken to someone who had his office base here, and he was genuinely upset. this is where they meet foreign dignitaries. of course, it's impossible to know exactly what the truth is. but there certainly is very little evidence here to support the argument that this was being used for military purposes. i think more importantly, what the libyan governments are now saying is that this was an

attempted political assassination, that they were trying to take out the political leadership of this country, and for them, that has raised a stake and the calling for the rest of the world to try to intervene and stop the nato mission continuing here? the capital. >> these two ro reporters are purported to have been killed in yemen and a number more in cities across the country. medical forces have been said that the security men have been demanding that the president's mediate departure. the whistleblowing website wikileaks has released secret intelligence assessments of all suspects who passed through american custody. about 220 wered as dangerous terrorists, but 150 were believed to be innocent. many of them detained for no apparent reason and eventually released. you're watching "bbc news." still ahead, we have a special

report from kate middleton's home village just days before her big wedding day. the dissident irish republican group the real i.r.a. has threatened to kill more police officers and declared it will oppose the queen's first visit to the irish republic next month. the warnings came in a statement read out by masked men at a cemetery in london derry. mark simpson. >> dissident republicans are trying to wreck the peace process. they have very little support in ireland, north or south of the border, even with a new republican community. but they don't seem to care. in a graveyard in derry, the so called real i.r.a. repeated their threat to police officers. they outlined their opposition to the queen's first visit to the republic of ireland next

month. >> we clearly said that the people of england is wanted for war crimes in ireland, and not wanted on irish. >> the real i.r.a. objected to the professional i.r.a. cease fire in 1997 and broke away. together with all their small dissident groups like the continuity i.r.a., they've been involved in bombings and shootings designed to try to break the peace. there has been an increase in security check points and police patrols. as a result of the dissident republican threat. people across northern ireland have been warned to be vigilant. the turnout of today's rally, less than 300 people in the city of 100,000, showed just how isolated the dissidents are. but they remain armed and dangerous.

mark simpson, "bbc news," derry. >> you're watching "bbc news." stay with us. plenty more to come. >> you're watching "bbc news." a reminder of the headlines this hour. the u.n. says there's credible evidence that war crimes were committed by the government and tamil tigers during the sri lankan civil war. tanks on the streets of syria an apparent escalation of a crackdown of anti-government protesters. let's get more on our top story, the long awaited u.n. report into alleged war crimes in the sri lankan civil war. r.j. is from the alliance of peace and reconciliation in sri lanka. he's been telling me that he welcomes the findings. >> it is appropriate, it has come at the right time, after two years. >> we've heard from our u.n. correspondent there about the

complexities and the pressure indeed on the u.n. secretary-general, to launch a proper investigation. one would presume that looking at the findings of this report that that would be the next stage, but how likely do you think that outcome is? >> the sri lankan government is going to look into any investigations to see how they conducted the whole affairs. before the war and after the war. the outcome of the human rights council was more pro-sri lankan. so what you can expect from sri lanka government is it is going to cam heavily internationally. >> how likely do you think that we will ever see anybody being held account for the mass killings that took place? >> this is going to be a very difficult task, and how they're going to take on this effort.

it is something that we have to wait and see. >> i wanted to talk to you about the division in sri lanka. do you see the government's efforts, as they've called it, for reconciliation, have done anything to unify the differences between the sri lankan communities there, or actually nothing has changed at all? >> nothing, nothing has happened so far. for the last two years, the government has not done anything. just keep on talking about the reconciliation effort. the reconciliation commission, it is utterly a sham. i will say the outcome will be something -- it will be disappointing. i doubt it very much -- they are in a very strong position to come out with a resolution to the conflict, which was long-standing. and the government hasn't done

anything. haven't done anything meaningful for the process. >> an inspection of the southwest airlines plane that suffered a mid air rupture has revealed possible manufacturing imperfections and evidence of fatigue cracks. the bogey 737 had to make an emergency landing at a u.s. military base in arizona, the beginning of the month. live now los angeles and rajesh. just give us further details about this detailed inspection into what happened. >> this is a preliminary findings which took place in the beginning of april. and they looked at the damaged part of the fuselage of the plane. if you remember, a rupture of more than a meter long opened up in the plane. said to be like a zipper. it came undone on a row of rivets.

they found that along all those rivets, there were tiny cracks emanating from them. but more worrying for some, they found that some of the holes where the rivet went in were actually bigger than the rivets themselves. and some of the holes have been worn into irregular shapes. they were no longer round through wear and tear. and that's led to some questions about the actual way that the plane was actually built some 15 years ago. now, it's preliminary report in the national transportation safety board, which is the federal agency that conducts investigation into any transport instance. says it's still investigating and it hasn't concluded what was to blame, whether it was wear and tear, manufacturing issue, or maybe spg else entirely at the moment. >> has there been any word at the moment from boeing or perhaps southwest airlines into this? >> sure. boeing makes these airplanes, they've made thousands of these airplanes many, many years.

they say at the time of the instance, some were talking about metal fatigue. boeing says this plane has taken off and landed some 39,000 times. it should be 60,000 times before you check for metal fatigue. and for manufacturing issues, the company says it won't speculate. while this is a preliminary report and says its own engineers are look at the damaged part of the plane to draw their own findings. southwest airlines, it had a similar issue two years ago with another jet. and when this incident happened, it grounded 80 737's. five of those were found to have cracks, and actually been fined previously. it says it's confident its fleet meets all safety standards. >> thank you very much for that. rajesh in los angeles. the shock of what the afghan president has called a disaster is still being felt in the country and the nato command. almost 500 taliban fighters and commanders have escaped from a

prison in kandahar through a tunnel dug from outside the jail. it's the second mass breakout there in three years, despite millions of dollars spent on improving security. a report now from the afghan capital. >> it's the second-biggest prison in afghanistan. before the prison breakout came the break-in. the taliban has given a detailed description of the escape. three men inside knew of the plan. when the tunnel was broke through, they moved from cell to cell and guided them in through the tunnel and outside. suicide attackers were standing by in case the plan was discovered, but prison guards were oblivious. the suicide attackers weren't needed. the prisoners left their belongings behind. many escaped barefoot. nearly all were insurgents. it took each man half an hour to

crawl to freedom. not far, the taliban raided a house. it took them five months to dig the tunnel. >> we had proper digging equipment and there was so much earth from the tunnel that we carried it away and gradually sold it in the market. we had skilled professionals helping us. trained engineers who advised us on the digging. >> afghan officials admit this is a big setback for security in the area in their war against the insurgency. >> we are look into finding out as to what exactly happened and what's being done to compensate for the disaster that happened in the prison in kandahar and beyond that. >> a huge bomb destroyed the gates in 2008. more than a thousand men

escaped. it's here where the jailbreak will be felt most, and the villages around kandahar. these soldiers spent a long summer fighting the taliban. some of them captured and now free again. with the fighting season about to start,, their enemy has just had its ranks replenished. >> now, there are just a few days to go until william and kate's big day. the preparations are in their final phase. nowhere more so than the bride's home village. we've been talking to the locals there. >> the bunting is already up in this part of berkshire, in honor of the girl who has made it to buckingham palace. >> it's good news for the nation, isn't it? >> i'm very excited. the nerves are getting closer and closer. the village butcher is one of the locals who have been invited

to the abbey for the wedding. he's known the bride since she was a little girl. >> we still see a lot of kate, despite what she's taken on. maybe not so often. but she'll always put her hand up, wave when she's passing or when she's in the area. give us a smile. >> for the 1,500villers who haven't been ined, there will be a big party here with a giant wedding cake. >> we're using 160 eggs, 40 kilograms of fruit, and a huge showcase as well. >> the church is 50 miles from westminster abbey, but they're still determined to be heard here on wedding day. >> she's gone. >> they composed a special four-hour day, and many have called for holiday to make sure they're there on the day. >> she was a delightful child. got on with everybody. extremely happy.

i feel very honored to be invited to ring. >> buckleberry is a quiet, private place. some here regret all the attention and are looking forward to saturday as much as they are to the wedding itself. but they also know this community now has a unique place in british royal history. john kay, "bbc news," buckleberry. >> there's lots more on the big day on the "bbc news" website. you can trace the family trees of both the bride and groom. you also find out more about the previous royal weddings and even follow the procession route that william and kate will be taking as newlyweds. it's all on there for you. just click on the link there on the "bbc news" website. just a quick reminder of our main news this hour. the united nations has finally issued a report into alleged war crimes in sri lanka plenty more on that to come. stay with us. you're watching "bbc news."

>> hello, and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe. and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. mcarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global

expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was