The Sri Lanka model – where a long, low-intensity civil war reached a violent, bloody climax; yet its architects remain in power and have escaped formal sanction by the international community – may have demonstrated to Assad that a brutal, uncompromising approach to internal dissent does not have to end [...]

Three years on from the bloody end to its civil war, Sri Lanka remains beset by the challenges of reconciliation, reintegration and rehabilitation, and faces intense scrutiny over allegations of war crimes and widespread human rights violations.

As displaced citizens of all religions return to their former homes, land issues and fishing rights in Sri Lanka are hugely contentious and – unless carefully managed by the government – can easily spill over into communal tension.