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Civilians flee to avoid LTTE recruitment
Colombo, June 13: Civilian families are fleeing their villages in Sri Lanka`s east to avoid recruitment of teenagers by the LTTE, with 32 people seeking refuge in army-controlled areas two days ago, the military said.
A defence ministry statement said the group of civilians included 19 boys and girls, most of them below 17 years of age. They were put up at a church and would be interviewed by Scandinavian monitors overseeing the government-LTTE truce.
Amnesty's two-week visit will mark the first time that the human rights body meets the LTTE leadership to raise the oft-repeated charge of using children in armed combat. The three-member team would also meet the government to discuss human rights issues in general.
Human rights, the return of displaced families and rehabilitation measures for returning families were among the matters to be discussed with the rebel leadership, Amnesty's Sri Lanka researcher Ingrid Massage said in a statement.
Bureau Report