of some form of video editing software. In July 2011, Channel 4 exclusively revealed two individuals who witnessed the final violent stage in May 2009 who claimed a military commander and Sri Lanka's defence secretary ordered war crimes. One stated "They shot people at random. Stabbed people. Raped them. Cut out their tongues, cut women's breasts off. I saw people soaked in blood." Photographs In October 2010 the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), an umbrella group for Tamil diaspora groups, published photographs that appeared to show the massacre of civilians and execution of Tamil Tigers. The photos showed blood stained bodies of young men and women with blindfolds and hands tied behind their backs. The GTF could not verify the authenticity of the photographs. It had obtained them from a Tamil Tiger intelligence official who said they had obtained the photos from someone in the Sri Lankan Army. The Sri Lankan government rejected the photos as an attempt to tarnish Sri Lanka's image. On 10 November 2010 Al Jazeera broadcast photographs that appeared to show the aftermath of Sri Lankan Army soldiers massacring civilians and executing Tamil Tigers in the final stages of the civil war. The graphic images showed dead bodies piled on top of each other, often naked. One of the photos showed what is believed to be the dead body of Prabhakaran's son. Some of the photos showed naked bodies with blindfolds and hands tied behind their backs. They appear to have been executed. Al Jazeera could not verify the authenticity of the photographs. It had obtained them from Tamils who said they had obtained the photos from someone in the Sri Lankan military. The Sri Lankan government reacted by calling the photos lies and fabrications. It claimed that some of the photos were the same as those broadcast by Channel 4 News in May 2010. Amnesty International reacted by stating that the photos were evidence that there needs to be an independent international investigation into what happened in the final stages of the civil. Eyewitness accounts and statements by opposing leaders A young pastor from Mullaithivu who was in the final war zone reported seeing shells landing randomly on May 16, 2009. He also saw many dead bodies and people crying out for food and water. He surrendered to the army the next day, along with four other pastors and sixty orphans under his care. He stated