The Inter- Agency Standing Committee Country Team(IASC) a body of UN agencies in Sri Lanka while strongly condemning the forced removal of the Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) assets and intimidations caused for the staff members by the LTTE, also urged the terrorist organization to immediately return all the INGO assets stolen with no further delay.

This was asserted in a communiqué‚ released Wednesday (July 30) by the IASC confirming the startling revelation made by defence.lk last Sunday on the LTTE use of NPA vehicles for terrorist activities.

In the statement IASC further stated that, at a time when there is an increased need for humanitarian assistance in the Wanni, the role of humanitarian Agencies is vital to assist the most vulnerable who are recipients of relief assistance and also called LTTE to ensure the immediate return of the stolen items.

Following is released by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Country Team (IASC) through the UN Mission in Colombo.

Earlier, in January, last year, the Special Task Force (STF), during operations in the Kanchikudichchi aru jungles, had recovered two boats donated by Save the Children (Sri Lanka), tents belonging to UNHCR, large quantities of food items taken from World Food Programme, Canadian aid and other foreign resources and large quantity of sleeping bags provided by Rotarian International. Although none of them would have handed over anything to the LTTE directly, they couldn't have been unaware of terrorists taking advantage of various items distributed among the civilian community; a senior police official was quoted as saying by 'The Island' today.

While welcoming the IASC statement, defence officials assert that the international community had been always slow in pointing the finger at the LTTE. A glaring example was the UN's failure last year to inform Sri Lanka of the detention of two UN workers by the LTTE until the Foreign Ministry raised the issue.

Also citing a similar issue 'The Island' stated more recently, a local UN employee trying to smuggle a pistol across the Irretteperiyakulam checkpoint was taken into custody.