(CNN) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron has given Sri Lanka a March 2014 deadline to hold an independent international inquiry into alleged war crimes during the country's 26-year civil war. Cameron held talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa while in the capital of Colombo for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday. The summit opened Friday amid concerns about the rights situation after Sri Lanka's war with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which ended in 2009. The prime ministers of Canada, Mauritius and India opted not to attend. On Saturday, Cameron acknowledged that Sri Lanka had suffered "almost three decades of bloody conflict" and that recovery and reconciliation took time.
@highlight
Sri Lanka has been hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting
@highlight
Some attendees have been questioning Sri Lanka's human rights record
@highlight
It follows a 26-year civil war with separatist Tamil rebels that ended in 2009
@highlight
David Cameron says an international inquiry should be held by March
He said he made it clear to @placeholder that he had "a real opportunity, through magnanimity and reform, to build a successful, inclusive and prosperous future for his country."