The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels met on Thursday to finalize a UNICEF plan to rehabilitate child soldiers recruited by the rebels during a 19-year civil war. The Tigers have pledged several times in the past to stop recruiting child soldiers and their release of the children is seen as a litmus test of their sincerity in the current peace process. UNICEF resident representative Ted Chaiban said the government and rebels would meet for two days of workshops in the rebel-held north, beginning on Thursday, to work out a comprehensive plan on war-affected children, to be implemented from May. “It is broadly for children affected by war, and that will also cover under-age recruitment,” Chaiban told Reuters. UNICEF has logged more than 700 complaints of child recruitment since a cease-fire in February last year. Peace talks are underway to end the war over a separate state for minority Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Full Story
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