A Sri Lankan commission appointed to investigate reports on people who went missing during the war, has sought more time to complete its work, the chairman of the commission said on Sunday.

Chairman of the Missing Persons Commission Maxwell Paranagama told Xinhua that the term of the Commission ends next month and he has now written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa seeking another six month extension.

The term of the commission which was appointed in August last year ended last February but was extended by six months which ends next month.

Last week President Rajapaksa expanded the mandate of the commission by asking it to also investigate allegations of civilians being killed during the war.

“Apart from our task to look into missing persons we will also now investigate alleged abuses committed during the war,” Paranagama said.

The work of the commission will be monitored by a three member experts team appointed by the president last week.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Sir Desmond de Silva as the chairman of the experts team while Sir Geoffrey Nice and Professor David Crane are the others experts in the Advisory Council.

Asked if a meeting has been scheduled between him and the three experts anytime soon, Paranagama said so far he has not been informed of such a meeting.

The latest developments came after the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched an investigation into alleged human rights abuses committed during the war between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the army.

OHCHR said it is monitoring the latest developments in Sri Lanka after the president expanded the mandate of the Missing Persons Commission.

OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said it is essential that such bodies meet internationally-recognized standards for undertaking credible, independent and impartial investigations. – Xinhua