COLOMBO, 13 January 2008 (IRIN) - Humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka are increasingly concerned that the government's withdrawal from a ceasefire with Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels, which takes effect on 16 January, will unleash fresh violence that could not only impact civilians but also impede aid delivery and jeopardise the safety of humanitarian workers.

Some 118,000 people displaced by hostilities between the separatist LTTE and government security forces in northern districts would be at risk if a surge in fighting restricts movement and cuts off supply lines, aid agencies said.

"We do have serious concerns that the conflict will intensify," said Zola Dowell of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) which oversees the UN's response in emergency situations. "That would have implications for humanitarian access to those most in need of assistance and for the safety and security of staff."

She said UN agencies were reviewing their aid delivery strategies and preparing contingency plans for the security of humanitarian workers.

"It is very important that we retain the ability to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population, especially the children and women affected by the conflict," said Gordon Weiss, spokesman of the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF. "In doing so, the safety of our staff must be guaranteed by all parties to the conflict."

The government announced last week that it was pulling out of the 2002 Norway-brokered truce with the LTTE, saying it was no longer effective. The supervision of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, a group of Scandinavian monitors which reported on truce violations, will also end.

The government has said its military campaign to rid the east of the LTTE last year was a success, and has vowed to continue its operations in the north.

Over 23,500 people have fled their homes in the northwestern district of Mannar in the last few weeks, according to the UN's weekly report on internally displaced persons (IDPs). Agencies are also assisting IDPs in the northern rebel-held districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, and in government-held Vavuniya.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has designated Sri Lanka a "high intensity conflict area" and has contingency plans for assisting up to 400,000 IDPs. (http://www.unhcr.lk/)

Child soldiers

Concern has also been expressed over the prospect of an increase in the recruitment of child soldiers by the LTTE if fighting escalates. "That would be one of the implications if the conflict intensifies," said OCHA's Dowell.

UNICEF has charged the LTTE with continuing to use children as combatants, despite assurances that it would release all underage soldiers.

According to current figures in a database maintained by UNICEF (http://www.unicef.org/srilanka/) based on reports by parents and independent verification, there are 1,448 children in the LTTE's ranks. Of these 290 are under 18, while others were underage when they were recruited and are now over 18.

UNICEF has also blamed a breakaway faction of the LTTE, the Karuna group, for conscripting youngsters in eastern districts. UNICEF figures show there are 233 child soldiers in this group, 169 under 18, and 54 who were under 18 when they were recruited.

The numbers have been disputed by the LTTE and the Karuna faction, but UNICEF says its figures are only one-third of the number recruited.

"There is a clear policy of zero tolerance to the recruitment and use of children by armed groups," said Weiss. "We will continue to advocate for the recruitment of children to stop, and for all recruited children to be released."

LTTE warning

After the government announced it was withdrawing from the truce, the LTTE warned aid agency staff working in the rebel-held northeastern district of Mullaitivu that they would be in danger if fighting broke out in the area.

"There were some security issues and the LTTE indicated that they couldn't provide any security guarantees," said Dowell. Some agencies, including the World Food Programme, have taken the LTTE warnings seriously and reduced or removed staff from high risk areas.

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