They believed their t-shirts would save them: families break silence on Muttur

The families of the 17 humanitarian workers executed at their office in Muttur have broken two decades of silence, giving testimony for the first time as Action Against Hunger renews its demand that Sri Lanka open a credible investigation into one of the deadliest attacks ever carried out against aid workers.

The report, published to mark the twentieth anniversary, carries anonymous accounts from relatives who have spent 20 years seeking answers, many suffering in silence for fear of reprisals. The organisation said its purpose was to honour the memory of the victims and to show that the unresolved crime continues to haunt the families and the wider humanitarian community.

They believed their t-shirts would save them

"The pain I feel is immense. This loss will stay with me for the rest of my life. If he had died fighting in a war, I might feel differently, but he died helping people in need, providing them with assistance, food, and basic necessities. He died helping others," one family member said.

The organisations account of the killings describes the Muttur office as an eerily cheerful small building painted in blue and white stripes, from which teams delivered water, sanitation and hygiene programmes and food security support to communities caught between the war and the aftermath of the tsunami.

The LTTE took control of Muttur on 1 August 2006. Subsequent bombardment by Sri Lankan forces drove thousands of civilians to flee, while the aid workers remained trapped inside the compound. After several failed evacuation attempts, the office was clearly marked with the organisations flags, and staff were assured that all parties to the conflict knew humanitarian workers were protected under international humanitarian law.

On 4 August the army announced it had retaken the town. That morning the office fell silent and all contact was lost. Only on 6 August were colleagues permitted to enter, finding 15 bodies lying face down in the courtyard and two more who had tried to flee. All were wearing Action Against Hunger t-shirts. By the time they were reached, the bodies had lain in the dirt for around two days and had begun to decompose in the heat.

"Its a terrible incident in my life," said one former staff member who saw the bodies and spoke on condition of anonymity.

"They believed their Action Against Hunger t-shirts would save them," said the brother of one of the victims.

Autopsies established that the bullet trajectories showed the victims had been made to kneel and shot from behind.

Two decades of obstruction

Political interference in the investigation was blatant from the outset, the organisation said. Sri Lankan authorities initially blamed the LTTE, but inconsistencies in the militarys accounts prompted further inquiries that continued for more than a decade. Investigations by the state in the two years after the massacre were marred by allegations of witness intimidation and evidence tampering. Action Against Hunger conducted its own investigation and published a report in 2013 identifying the security forces as responsible, a finding confirmed in 2015 by the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka.

"The Muttur attack was a violation of international humanitarian law, not only at the time of the massacre itself, but also in the way the subsequent investigation was handled," said Perrine Benoist, Co-Executive Director of Action Against Hunger.

No transparent, independent and effective national investigation has ever been conducted, the organisation said, with every attempt over two decades marred by irregularities and falling short of international standards. On 15 May this year it again called on the Sri Lankan government to open an investigation and end 20 years of impunity, and has received no response.

"This is an obligation we have as an employer. It is also a promise we made to the families. We will continue until justice is served," Benoist said.

Hopes now rest partly on Sri Lankas recent decision to sign a global declaration on protecting aid workers, co-authored by the United Kingdom and signed by 118 states, which campaigners hope may finally open a route to accountability. The organisation also noted that the UKs foreign secretary committed last month to personally investigate the matter, a promise it said it would press the new government to uphold.

The anniversary falls at a moment of mounting danger for aid workers. At least 326 humanitarian workers were killed across 21 countries in 2025 alone, bringing the total killed over three years to more than a thousand.

"I am waiting for the day that there is justice. That is when I will truly commemorate my sister, that is the day I will truly light a candle for her," said the brother of another victim.

Amuthan Sivajnanam, now 52, lost his sister Kovarthani, 27, in the massacre. She had joined the organisation two years earlier, travelling to villages devastated by the armed conflict to help families with safe drinking water and sanitation.

"She believed that humanitarian work was not simply a job. It was a calling. She was unmarried and dedicated her life to serving strangers who had lost everything," he told the Guardian.

Sivajnanam worked for the organisation himself, as a security guard.

"We believed that humanitarian workers were protected by international law and by the basic conscience of humanity," he said.

“She was targeted, I believe, because she was a Tamil humanitarian worker whose life could be erased without consequences. That is what ethnic hatred does. It strips people of their names and professions and reduces them to an identity that can be eliminated without accountability."

The 17

Action Against Hunger named its staff as R. Arulrajah, 24; M. Narmathan, 23; S. Koneswaran, 24; T. Pratheeban, 27; R. Sivapiragasham, 25; G. Kavitha, 27; M. Rishikesan, 24; A. Jaseelan, 27; K. Kovarthani, 27; V. Kokilavathani, 29; A.L.M Jawffar, 31; Y. Kodeeswaran, 30; S.P Anantharajah, 32; I. Muralitharan, 33; G. Sritharan, 36; M. Ketheeswaran, 36; and S. Ganesh, 54.

The publication follows a statement by four UN special rapporteurs on the anniversary urging Sri Lanka to open or reactivate a prompt, independent and effective investigation, and a call by Amnesty International that justice for the massacre could not wait after two decades of impunity. The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledged during the 2024 election campaign to establish an independent prosecutor for emblematic wartime cases, including Muttur. That commitment remains unfulfilled.