The massacre
On August 4, 2006, 17 aid workers were executed in their compound in Muttur, Sri Lanka. The victims were local staff of Action Against Hunger, a Paris-based NGO working to assist survivors of the 2004 tsunami. They were found lying face down with head and neck wounds from close-range gunfire. The killings took place after several days of fighting between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a conflict over control of the town. Two days earlier, the LTTE had captured Muttur, but government troops regained it by noon. The brutal discovery shocked all witnesses. Among the 17, 15 were found directly in the compound, while two others had tried to flee and were found in a nearby vehicle.
The cover-up
In the days after the massacre, the Sri Lankan military told foreign journalists that the Tamil Tigers were responsible for the killings. This narrative was later disproven by independent investigations. The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) conducted a thorough review and reported that the victims had been executed by naval special forces commandos and police constables. Their report also implicated senior police and justice officials in covering up the truth. The findings revealed a coordinated effort to shift blame away from the security forces. The victims, 13 men and 4 women, were all ethnic Tamils except for one Muslim. These details were carefully hidden by those involved in the cover-up.
The ongoing demand for justice
James Ross, Human Rights Watch’s legal and policy director, highlighted that two decades after the massacre, no one responsible for the killings has been brought to justice. In an article marking the 20th anniversary, Ross noted he still cannot say that those involved have been held to account. The killings are one of many atrocities from the 26-year civil war, which ended in 2009 with the LTTE’s defeat. Ross pointed out that successive governments in Sri Lanka have repeatedly failed to follow through on promises to investigate major human rights cases, including this one. The victims’ families, along with thousands of others who were killed, disappeared, or left unaccounted for, have waited for justice. Ross urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to fulfill his 2024 campaign pledge to appoint an independent prosecutor to handle emblematic wartime cases, such as the Muttur massacre.
Recently, Action Against Hunger itself called for a new international investigation, emphasizing that the lack of accountability for these killings sends a dangerous message. It suggests that attacks on humanitarian workers can go unanswered. Despite these calls, the Sri Lankan government has shown no sign of launching a meaningful investigation or trial. Ross, in his full article, has called on the international community and concerned governments to continue pressuring Sri Lanka and to highlight the urgent need for justice for all victims of wartime abuses.