Former LTTE recruit child soldiers: UN

Colombo: A group of former Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas - who the mainstream rebels say are backed by the government - are abducting and recruiting children as soldiers, the United Nations childrens fund said on Thursday.

The government has long denied backing fighters loyal to former eastern LTTE commander Karuna Amman, but truce monitors say they have at least been turning a blind eye to his operations in government territory and diplomats are increasingly skeptical.

UNICEF also accuses the mainstream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of recruiting underage fighters, but this is the first time they have levelled the accusation at Karuna.

''UNICEF is calling for immediate action to halt the abduction and forced recruitment of children by the Karuna group,'' the organisation said in a statement.

''Reports of abduction and forced recruitment of boys under the age of 18 have increased since March this year,'' the statement added.

The Karuna group has been attacking the LTTE in the east since a 2004 split. The Tigers appear to have retaliated against government forces for his attacks and violence has soared, with more than 700 people killed this year and a 2002 truce in tatters.

More than 30 abductions took place in eastern Sri Lanka around the army-held town of Batticaloa, seen as Karuna's main power base and headquarters of his fledgling political party, UNICEF said.

A Karuna aide denied any involvement in child abduction.

''We don't need children,'' the aide told Reuters. ''The reason is we don't want to engage children and we have enough people to carry out the job who are over 20 years old.''

The Karuna group says it is standing up against the LTTE and wants a peaceful end to the conflict. But their support is seen as helping the government in any war, and the military has repeatedly said it cannot find any Karuna fighters to disarm.

The European Union last month banned the LTTE as a terrorist group alongside Al Qaeda, but diplomatic sources say they also plan on adding the Karuna group to their list.