Rebels Accused of Kidnapping Children

Internally displaced ethnic Tamil children look on as soldiers stand guard on their arrival at government controlled area in Vinayagapuram, about 250 kilometers (156 miles) east of Colombo, Sri Lanka , Wednesday, Dec.20, 2006. Hundreds of Tamil civilians fled Tamil Tiger rebel held areas and entered government control territory fearing escalation of violence. Sri Lanka's government on Wednesday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of abducting at least 455 underage boys and girls from government-controlled areas this year to be trained as combatants and asked the insurgents to stop the practice. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (Eranga Jayawardena - AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka's government accused Tamil Tiger rebels on Wednesday of abducting more than 400 underage boys and girls from government-controlled areas this year to be trained as combatants and asked the insurgents to stop the practice.

The government said the rebels had recruited at least 455 underage combatants. The U.N. children's agency UNICEF also said insurgents are known to have recruited 539 young fighters this year through Nov. 30 although the group believes the actual number of cases could be three times that.

"This figure is based on actual police reports that were lodged after parents complained," military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe told a news conference. "The figure will be much higher as many parents do not come forward fearing retribution."

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan denied the charges.

"This is a false propaganda being carried out by the Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lankan military to defame our freedom movement," Ilanthirayan said from the group's headquarters in Kilinochchi.

"When Sri Lankan government people and military speak about Tamil children, we laugh as they are the people who are responsible for the plight of Tamils in general and children in particular," Ilanthirayan added.

The abduction accusation came after the military said Tamil Tiger rebels kidnapped 16 girls, seven boys and two teachers from a class in eastern Ampara, an area under government control.

It was the latest alleged abduction by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who say they are fighting the Sri Lankan government to carve out a separate state for the country's 3.1 million ethnic Tamil minority.

The rebels said the teenagers wanted to join their movement and went voluntarily to insurgent-held areas. They were asked to return home after guerrillas learned they were underaged, Ilanthirayan said.

On Wednesday, UNICEF spokesman Francis Mead said the mainstream rebels had released 80 of the 539 underage combatants they recruited this year.

UNICEF also said a breakaway faction of the mainstream rebels was responsible for recruiting 186 underage combatants during the same period. The breakaway Karuna group, named after its leader, released 21 of the underage combatants, it said. The mainstream rebels say the breakaway group enjoys the support of the Sri Lankan military, a charge the army denies.

"Our figures come from parents," Mead said. "Our estimate is that the figures reflect about one-third of the actual cases. ... We have no evidence to suggest that the children are volunteering to join the groups."

The Tamil Tigers have in the past used thousands of underage combatants in their war against government forces, according to the government, U.N. agencies and rights groups.

They say they have stopped the practice of recruiting underage combatants.

Although a cease-fire went into effect in 2002, the two sides have resumed almost daily fighting.

The insurgents control a vast area of northeast Sri Lanka where they have their own laws and run their own courts, police and administrative system.