The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Monday barred security forces from evicting ethnic Tamils without a court order, officials said, following a mass expulsion last year that drew global condemnation.

Chief Justice Sarath Silva ordered a halt to the evictions, saying they must be conducted through the proper legal channels, court officials said.

"The Supreme Court did not cite any individual, but upheld that there peoples' rights were violated," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, which filed the case.