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Tsunami victims now soldiers
26/01/2005 14:39 - (SA)
Colombo - Tamil Tiger rebels have recruited at least 40 child soldiers since tsunamis devastated Sri Lanka and killed nearly 31 000 people, the United Nations children's fund said on Wednesday.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had taken three children from a relief centre for survivors while others had been recruited from areas of the northeast held by the guerrillas, UNICEF said.
"We have 40 cases of confirmed child recruitment since the tsunamis," UNICEF spokesperson Geoffrey Keele said. "We had hoped that with such a disaster the LTTE would have ended this practice. But unfortunately no."
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