COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN -- Tamil Tiger rebel aircraft on Friday dropped bombs in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, and a rural town, military sources told CNN.
Tamil residents at a protest at which rebels were denounced for allegedly using civilians as human shields.
One or two bombs fell near the nation's air force headquarters, with one striking the Inland Revenue Department building, the sources said. Another fell in the village of Anamaduwa, some 60 miles north of Colombo.
Air defense systems were activated and there was a blackout in Colombo in the wake of the raid, the air force said.
The attack came as a leading rights group accused both Sri Lankan soldiers and Tamil rebels of breaking international law and abusing civilians.
Both sides "appear to be engaged in a perverse competition to demonstrate the greatest disregard for the civilian population," according to the Human Rights Watch, in a 45-page report dated Thursday about warfare in the Vanni region of northern Sri Lanka.
"This 'war' against civilians must stop," said James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch.
One or two bombs fell near the nation's air force headquarters, with one striking the Inland Revenue Department building, the sources said. Another fell in the village of Anamaduwa, some 60 miles north of Colombo.
Air defense systems were activated and there was a blackout in Colombo in the wake of the raid, the air force said.
The attack came as a leading rights group accused both Sri Lankan soldiers and Tamil rebels of breaking international law and abusing civilians.
Both sides "appear to be engaged in a perverse competition to demonstrate the greatest disregard for the civilian population," according to the Human Rights Watch, in a 45-page report dated Thursday about warfare in the Vanni region of northern Sri Lanka.
"This 'war' against civilians must stop," said James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch.
