Aid workers killed in Trincomalee
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Photos of ACF victims on display during a memorial service held in Trincomalee on 11 August |
Sewalanka Foundation Chairman Mr Harsha Kumara Navaratne has expressed the condolences of Sewalanka's management and staff to the families of 17 aid workers murdered in Muttur, Trincomalee.
The bodies of the 17 staff members of aid agency Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) were discovered in and around the organisation's compound in Muttur on Sunday 6 August.
"On behalf of Sewalanka Foundation, I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues grieving the loss of the 17 ACF staff members. I also wish to express my sadness at the alarming deterioration of peace in the north and east of Sri Lanka .
"Whilst the death of innocent civilians during any conflict situation is devastating, it is particularly saddening when the safety of humanitarian staff working to provide life-saving relief within their own communities, cannot be guaranteed.
"To the families and friends of these 17 victims, the thoughts of myself, my colleagues at Sewalanka and those at partner organisation, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (German Agro Action), are with you at this terrible time.
“As a member of the humanitarian community, I am appalled by this heinous act and join with my colleagues in supporting a full inquiry into these deaths.
“I also call on the generosity of the international community to provide support to those humanitarian agencies working not only in Trincomalee, but in Jaffna and other conflict areas in Sri Lanka, to deliver much needed supplies to the affected communities.”
