He accused the ICG for not having authentic sources to prove the allegations of shelling hospitals and other places.

Peiris said Pillay's accusations against Sri Lanka were unfair. "It is even oppressive. It is as though some people will not rest until they are successful in harassing Sri Lanka," he said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has strongly opposed calls to commence international inquiry for alleged war crimes, saying he would not tolerate any outside review of a campaign solely aimed at "defeating terrorism."

In a recent interview, Rajapaksa, who has strongly denied the accusations on war crimes, said the military did not target Tamil civilians and no non-terrorists were killed.

Meanwhile, the detained former Army chief General Sarath Fonseka, whose name was mentioned in the alleged war crimes together with Rajapaksa's brother Defense Secretary Gotabhya Rajapaksa, denied the war crime charges by the ICG.

Fonseka said he had masterminded the battle operation and commanded the ground operations of the final battle.

He said he would strongly deny the allegation that civilians were intentionally killed by the soldiers.

In the latest development, Sri Lankan government minister Wimal Weerawansa has urged the public to surround the UN office in Colombo and prevent the staff from leaving the premises until a decision is taken by Ban to dissolve the UN panel.

However, the Sri Lankan government has assured the UN that the comments made by Weerawansa was his individual opinion and did not reflect the policy of the government.