UN Threatens To Suspend Aid Operations In Sri Lanka
Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter (AHN) - The United Nations is threatening to suspend aid operations in Sri Lanka after the military was accused of killing 17 French charity workers. Truce monitors said the killings earlier this month were "a gross violation" of the ceasefire by security forces. Sri Lanka's government denied the monitors' accusations, saying they are "biased." The UN's emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, says it is unacceptable that the government has not given any explanation for the deaths of 17 employees of Action Against Hunger. All but one of the workers were ethnic Tamils. They were working on tsunami relief projects. Egeland says in a statement, "We cannot continue in this area unless people will be held accountable for the execution of 17 of our colleagues." He says that while the international community was focused on Lebanon, the conflict in Sri Lanka has worsened. Egeland says about 220,000 displaced Sri Lankans need an estimated $37.5 million in aid. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission says it is "convinced" armed groups are not responsible for the killings near Mutter.
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