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(December 15, New York, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger militants have increased the forced conscription of soldiers, including children, a human rights watchdog said on Monday. Human Rights Watch said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has also tightened restrictions on civilians trying to flee intense fighting in the country's north.
In a report released on Monday, the New York-based group said the Tigers were "brutally abusing the Tamil population in areas under their control".
"The LTTE claims to be fighting for the Tamil people, but it is responsible for much of the suffering of civilians in the Vanni (district)," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
"As the LTTE loses ground to advancing government forces, their treatment of the very people they say they are fighting for is getting worse."
Using a coercive pass system to prevent civilians from leaving areas it controls, the LTTE has now completely prohibited movement out of the northern Vanni region, except for some medical emergencies, Human Rights Watch said.
The group estimated only about a thousand people have managed to flee the conflict zone since March 2008.
"By refusing to allow people their basic rights to freedom of movement, the LTTE has trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians in a dangerous war zone," said Adams.
Human Rights Watch says LTTE cadres have urged teenagers aged from 14 to 18 to join them.
As intense fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces continues in the north, the financial ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the country's credit rating to five levels below investment grade.
Concerns about security and ballooning debt lowered the long term foreign currency rating to B from B+ - the same level as the African countries of Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
Government forces claimed at the weekend they were poised to overrun the political headquarters of separatist Tamil Tiger militants. - Sri Lanka Guardian
(December 15, New York, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger militants have increased the forced conscription of soldiers, including children, a human rights watchdog said on Monday. Human Rights Watch said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has also tightened restrictions on civilians trying to flee intense fighting in the country's north.
In a report released on Monday, the New York-based group said the Tigers were "brutally abusing the Tamil population in areas under their control".
"The LTTE claims to be fighting for the Tamil people, but it is responsible for much of the suffering of civilians in the Vanni (district)," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
"As the LTTE loses ground to advancing government forces, their treatment of the very people they say they are fighting for is getting worse."
Using a coercive pass system to prevent civilians from leaving areas it controls, the LTTE has now completely prohibited movement out of the northern Vanni region, except for some medical emergencies, Human Rights Watch said.
The group estimated only about a thousand people have managed to flee the conflict zone since March 2008.
"By refusing to allow people their basic rights to freedom of movement, the LTTE has trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians in a dangerous war zone," said Adams.
Human Rights Watch says LTTE cadres have urged teenagers aged from 14 to 18 to join them.
As intense fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces continues in the north, the financial ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the country's credit rating to five levels below investment grade.
Concerns about security and ballooning debt lowered the long term foreign currency rating to B from B+ - the same level as the African countries of Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
Government forces claimed at the weekend they were poised to overrun the political headquarters of separatist Tamil Tiger militants. - Sri Lanka Guardian
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