Sri Lanka war: UN council backs rights abuses inquiry

The UN Human Rights Council has voted in favour of a resolution which paves the way for an inquiry into rights abuses at the close of Sri Lanka's civil war.

The US and the UK were among the countries which sponsored a resolution which for the first time explicitly calls for an international probe.

Sri Lanka's army defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels after 26 years of bloody civil war in May 2009. Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.

James Robbins reports.