Sri Lankas Tamil Tiger rebels have stepped up recruiting hundreds of child soldiers amid renewed moves by peace broker Norway to revive stalled talks, officials and residents said Thursday.rn
Tamil Tigers have begun enlisting young fighters in the northern Wanni district in the past two weeks after demobilising nearly 1,000 child soldiers who were loyal to a renegade commander, a local official said.rn
rn The Scandinavians who are monitoring a truce between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were aware of the new recruitment drive of the Tigers.rn
rn "We can confirm that a recruitment of children on behalf of the LTTE is underway in the Wanni," said Agnes Bragadottir, a spokesman for the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.rn
rn However, she said the mission was unaware of the exact numbers that had been recruited into the ranks of the LTTE, but they were in touch with the United Nations agency for children UNICEF on the matter.rn
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