COLOMBO, 16 March 2009: The UN said today that it holds grave fears for the safety of one UN national staff member, and three dependent family members who were forcibly recruited over the weekend by the LTTE, inside the government-declared No Fire Zone. The forced recruitments included the 16 year old daughter of a UN national staff member. The UN in Sri Lanka has protested to the LTTE that UN national staff, as well as children in general, are protected under national and international law from recruitment by armed groups, and has called for their immediate release. Another UN national staff member was recruited two weeks ago, and has yet to be released despite repeated requests from the UN.
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