US will join international community to end violence in Lanka

Washington, Aug 8: The United States has announced to join hands with the international community to end violence in Sri Lanka following the massacre of at least 15 aid workers yesterday.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters here yesterday that the US will do everything it can to move Sri Lanka toward a lasting peace.

Mr McCormack said ''It's a terrible situation. And we're quite disturbed by the descent into violence and are going to do everything that we can, working with the other members of the international community that have been deeply involved in trying to help the Sri Lankan Government bring peace to that troubled island''.

He added ''So it is certainly a disturbing development and we're going to do what we can to try to bring at least a return to an end to the violence and then ultimately go down the road of any negotiations that would bring a permanent end to the violence.'' Fifteen aid workers, all ethnic Tamils were found shot execution-style in their offices in the eastern town of Muttur. They were involved in providing assistance to victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The French aid group 'Action Against Hunger', which employed the workers, said it was suspending its mission in Sri Lanka because of the killings. The government and Tamil rebels have blamed each other for the workers' deaths.

Muttur has been in the middle of 13 days of fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in an ongoing battle over a water reservoir.

Officials from the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, an umbrella group of Sri Lankan aid organizations, are traveling to the area to investigate the deaths. The Fighting began when government troops tried to secure a reservoir, held by Tamil rebels, who cut off water supplies to villagers in government-held land. It is the worst violence since Norway helped broker a cease-fire in 2002.

UNI