Colombo (PTI): Rejecting suggestions that it was recruiting child soldiers to fight against LTTE, the ruling party in eastern Lanka has said it was committed to wipe out the practice of employing young children in war zones.

The TMVP Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan said the state government has opened three offices in the region to look for child soldiers mentioned by the UNICEF.

"As a political party engaged in popular mainstream politics, Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) will never entangle itself with child soldier issues, and if there is an issue remaining, it will be resolved within three months," Mr. Pillayan said.

The Chief Minister who was speaking to reporters in Trincomalee on Thursday said that the TMVP has already handed over the child soldiers to their parents and relatives. "The UNICEF still accuses TMVP party saying that we still continue with recruitment. They even given us a list of 100 child soldiers recruited in the party. We have been streamlined into democracy recently, we have a duty to respond to such allegations and work in collaboration to sort it out for betterment of the public," the Chief Minister said.

He said the government have opened three offices in Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara to look for the child soldiers mentioned by the UNICEF with the cooperation of the police department.