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Unicef to open home in Lanka to demobilise child soldiers
Colombo, Sept 29: The UN agency for children said today it will open its first transit home in Sri Lanka to demobilise some of the hundreds of underage soldiers recruited by Tamil Tiger rebels.
Colombo, Sept 29: The UN agency for children said today it will open its first transit home in Sri Lanka to demobilise some of the hundreds of underage soldiers recruited by Tamil Tiger rebels.
The transit home to be opened on Friday in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, 330 kms north of the Capital, will be a short-term haven for demobilised child soldiers and other underage victims of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.
It is to be run by local and foreign non-governmental agencies including Unicef and a tiger front group.
"The transit centre project is one component of the action plan for war-affected children in the northeast of Sri Lanka... (and) covers child soldiers specifically and allows for an initial assessment of the children in a non-military environment before reunification with families," Unicef said.
The transit home is not an alternative to reuniting child soldiers with their families, the UN agency stressed.
The Tamil Tigers have faced repeated international criticism for their "baby brigade" during their three-decade separatist war that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Colombo government agreed in their fifth round of peace talks in Berlin in February to allow Unicef a greater role in addressing problems faced by children affected by the war.
The LTTE has returned at least 350 child soldiers to their parents since November 2001, but Unicef still has a list of over 700 children who have reportedly been conscripted by the tigers.
Bureau Report
It is to be run by local and foreign non-governmental agencies including Unicef and a tiger front group.
"The transit centre project is one component of the action plan for war-affected children in the northeast of Sri Lanka... (and) covers child soldiers specifically and allows for an initial assessment of the children in a non-military environment before reunification with families," Unicef said.
The transit home is not an alternative to reuniting child soldiers with their families, the UN agency stressed.
The Tamil Tigers have faced repeated international criticism for their "baby brigade" during their three-decade separatist war that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Colombo government agreed in their fifth round of peace talks in Berlin in February to allow Unicef a greater role in addressing problems faced by children affected by the war.
The LTTE has returned at least 350 child soldiers to their parents since November 2001, but Unicef still has a list of over 700 children who have reportedly been conscripted by the tigers.
Bureau Report