New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the promotion of the general decorated for the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009 that ended the over three-decade civil war.
Major General Jagath Dias was promoted as chief of staff, the second highest ranking position in the Sri Lankan Army, this week.
HRW says Dias' 57th division was implicated in serious human rights abuses and brings into question the new Sri Lankan government's commitment to credibly probe alleged war crimes during the country's brutal ethnic conflict.
"Members of the UN Human Rights Council expecting genuine accountability in Sri Lanka need to closely scrutinise the government's actions. The 57th Division took part in the last battles of the war, including the extremely bloody and abusive fighting on a small stretch of beach in Mullaithivu district.
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"Human Rights Watch documented the indiscriminate shelling of civilians and hospitals by government forces in the region where the 57th Division was deployed", an HRW release said.
"Six years since the end of the brutal conflict, the victims of the war still await justice," he said.