Fifteen Tamil aid workers killed as Sri Lankan violence intensifies

FIFTEEN Tamil civilians working for a French aid agency were found slain in north-eastern Sri Lanka after fierce battles between rebels and the government over water supplies, relief agency officials said yesterday.

The Tamil Tiger rebels, meanwhile, said they had repelled a government military offensive to regain control of a reservoir supply canal that has been the focus of intensified fighting.

Military spokesman Major Upali Rajapakse denied the claim, saying the offensive was still ongoing.

The aid workers — 11 men and four women — were doing post-tsunami relief work for the French agency Action Against Hunger in the seaside town of Muttur, the scene of heavy battles that have brought the country to the edge of civil war.

Their bodies were found late Friday, Action Against Hunger official Eric Fort said. The bodies had bullet wounds and most of them lay face down, other agency officials said earlier.

“We are trying to get the bodies to the families, but we are not succeeding,” Mr Fort said. He did not elaborate, but the Muttur area has been sealed off by the military, which beat back a rebel offensive to take the town.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the slayings.

The fighting started on July 20 when rebels cut water from the reservoir to 60,000 people in government-held villages in the northeastern region. They said they were retaliating for the government’s reneging of a deal to boost the water supply in rebel areas.

Government forces launched fresh artillery attacks at the reservoir Sunday, hours after rebels agreed to reopen the sluice gates during a meeting with Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer.

Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella accused the rebels of trying to use the reservoir for political purposes. He said the rebels should notify the government and allow engineers to open the gates if they are serious about restoring supply.

The rebels had said they might reverse their decision to release the water if the government resumes attacks.