Eight British aid agencies working in Sri Lanka have condemned the recent brutal killing of 17 aid workers in Muttur. The agencies also warned that increasing violence in the north and east of the country is threatening tsunami reconstruction and emergency response works.
In unity, aid agencies CAFOD, CARE International, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Save the Children, Merlin and World Vision, told how the killings revealed the dangers for civilians caught in the upsurge of violence, as well as for those working on tsunami reconstruction and the long-term recovery of the country.The renewed violence in the east of Sri Lanka between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has again begun to devastate the lives of civilians, including people who were already affected by the tsunami.
The atrocities against the relief workers began when the employees of Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger), a Paris-based international aid agency, were found executed in their office. It is not yet known who is responsible.
A ceasefire between the army and the LTTE has been in place since 2002, but in recent months violence has flared up again in the north and east of the country.
Now thousands are fleeing their homes and have sought refuge in other parts of the country. The latest displacement has put even more pressure on aid agencies to provide relief in addition to their ongoing tsunami rehabilitation work.
Richard Mawer, Save the Children’s country programme director in Sri Lanka, said, “The current escalation in violence is having a profound impact on the ability of aid agencies to provide vital support to communities already affected by the tsunami as well as thousands of families whose lives are now being shattered.”
