Sri Lanka in biggest military purge after coup fears

A military official said it was the army's biggest-ever purge and went beyond a 1962 shake up following a coup attempt by volunteer officers against late prime minister Sirima Bandaranaike.

"What we have just witnessed is the biggest single shake up in the army," a top official who declined to be named said. "The sacking is also coupled with several drastic changes in key positions."

President Mahinda Rajapakse had accused the defeated opposition of planning to assassinate him after he beat former army general Sarath Fonseka in the bitterly fought January 26 poll.

Security forces kept Fonseka under siege while election results were announced on Wednesday, and 15 retired officers working at Fonseka's offices were later arrested.

The military official told AFP 12 top officers, including three major generals, were sacked to thwart any attempted coup by Fonseka's supporters inside the military.

The defence ministry in a statement said an undisclosed number were "sent on compulsory retirement" because they were considered a "direct threat to national security".