Colombo (PTI): Amnesty International has asked the Sri Lankan government to make protection of human rights its top priority and facilitate the monitoring and reporting of alleged abuses by allowing the rights watchdog "access" to the country.

"The situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated and both the government and the LTTE stand accused of serious human rights abuses. All parties should immediately stop targeting civilians and uphold their commitments to international human rights law," the group's Secretary Irene Khan said in a statement.

"Amnesty International's role is to monitor and report on human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict. The organisation has repeatedly requested that the government should facilitate this role by allowing us access to the country," she said, adding Sri Lanka must make protection of human rights the top priority.

Amnesty International also rejected a recent statement by government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella that the rights watchdog had failed "to utter a single word" against recent bomb attacks in the Island country.

In the last month alone the organisation made several statements condemning the targeting of civilians including one on 4th February 2008, Khan said.