Nordic truce monitors in Sri Lanka have said that government forces were responsible for the killing earlier this month of 17 local employees of the French charity Action Against Hunger.

The Swedish-led monitors of a 2002 ceasefire also said in a statement on Wednesday that Sri Lankan troops blocked their access to the northeast town of Muttur in a bid to conceal the mass killing.

“The killing of the 17 civilian aid workers in Muttur on the 4th of August 2006 is ruled as a gross violation of the ceasefire agreement by the Security Forces of Sri Lanka,’’ the monitors said.

The statement said chief monitor Ulf Henricsson had confidential discussions with “highly reliable sources’’ about those responsible for the killings. “The views have not proved contradictory and the security forces of Sri Lanka are widely and consistently deemed to be responsible for the incident. Taking into consideration the fact that the security forces had been present in Muttur at the time of the incident, it appears highly unlikely to blame other groups for the killings.’’