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Colombo: An international human rights group said on Thursday the UN Security Council should impose sanctions on Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels for using child soldiers and accused the government of ignoring child recruitment by an allied paramilitary force.
US-based Human Rights Watch made the allegations as UN experts met in New York to discuss the use of underage soldiers in Sri Lanka's civil war, and as a UN envoy was on a week-long visit to the country to assess the conflict.
International rights groups have long criticised the Tamil Tigers and other armed groups in Sri Lanka for forcibly recruiting children.
The rebels promised earlier to stop using child soldiers and Human Rights Watch said reported cases had dropped significantly, but UNICEF said there were still at least 196 children in the guerrilla force at the end of January.
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