French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, in a statement to mark World Humanitarian day today, has raised the death of 17 aid workers in Sri Lanka during the war and noted that the killers have yet to be identified.

The 17 aid workers of Action Against Hunger or Action Contre La Faim (ACF) were killed in Mutur in 2006 and both the government and the LTTE blamed each other at the time for the deaths.

“We also remember the 17 members of Action Against Hunger who were executed in 2006 in Muttur in Sri Lanka; their murderers have still not been found. The security of humanitarian personnel is a priority for France. The attacks against them negate the solidarity which forms the basis of humanitarian action. They represent a scourge for the international community and all States must take appropriate measures to deal with them. That is why France is determined to try and strengthen the security of humanitarian personnel, notably at the next United Nations General Assembly,” the French Foreign Minister said in his statement today. (Daily Mirror online)