Child soldier figures wrongly quoted- Save the Children

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 May 2005, 07:48 GMT]
Mike Aaronson, Director General of Save the Children UK, in a letter to LTTE's Head of Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, expressed regret that the figures for child soldiers including girl soldiers have been "wrongly quoted" in a recent report released by the UK based organisation. The report stated that 50 000 child soldiers, including 21,500 girl soldiers are involved in the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Save the Children UK has withdrawn the original report and has released an amended version of the report, the organisation said in a press statement on Wednesday.

Mr. Aaronson in his letter to Mr. Thamilchelvan said that the errors in the report did not accurately depict the circumstances in Sri Lanka.

The organisation in the corrected version said that there are 50 000 children, affected by the conflict.

Save the ChildrenUK is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance and fights for children in the UK and around the world who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence.

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