COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s former top army general today asked the Supreme Court to restore his security contingent which has been drastically scaled down following a spat with the president, officials said.

Sarath Fonseka petitioned the country’s highest court seeking the restoration of his 600-member strong bodyguard unit which has been slashed to 60, papers filed in court showed.

A court official said the case was likely to be taken up in a few days. A key opposition party today announced it had chosen Fonseka as its candidate to challenge President Mahinda

Rajapakse at upcoming polls.