Sri Lanka says it plans to create special court to examine alleged civil war atrocities

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera speaks holding a copy of the UN Human Rights Office report on Sri Lanka at a media briefing in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Samaraweera said Sri Lanka will begin talks next month on creating a special court to examine alleged atrocities during the country's civil war, in which tens of thousands of people died. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera gestures as he speaks at a media briefing in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Samaraweera said Sri Lanka will begin talks next month on creating a special court to examine alleged atrocities during the country's civil war, in which tens of thousands of people died. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An official says Sri Lanka will begin talks next month on creating a special court to examine alleged atrocities during the country's civil war, in which tens of thousands of people died.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera made the announcement Thursday, a day after the United Nations human rights chief recommended a special hybrid court including foreign judges and investigators to examine the allegations, which he described as horrific. He said Sri Lanka's own courts are not yet ready to carry out a fair judicial process.

Samaraweera said the new court would be domestic but the government is willing to accept international assistance.

Sri Lanka's civil war ended in 2009 with the government's defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels who had sought to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils.