Aid groups express concern over paramilitary presence in east

* GTZ suspends Batti work
* SLMM says 16 children missing
* Karuna wants credible evidence

The humanitarian community has expressed serious concerns over the presence of paramilitary groups in the east with a leading German charity organization GTZ temporarily suspending its operations in Batticaloa after two of its offices were looted by armed men. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) says abductions still continue in Batticaloa and also noted in its latest weekly report that 16 children and 7 adults were reported missing in the district last week and raised suspicion of Karuna and LTTE involvement.

However, Karuna spokesman Azath Maulana played down the latest concerns and allegations raised by the NGOs and the SLMM and called for "credible evidence" to substantiate any claims of Karuna involvement in the said incidents or other child recruitment allegations. Incidentally, UN envoy Allan Rock was yesterday scheduled to present a report to the working group of the UN Security Council which he claimed contains "credible evidence" of Karuna and LTTE child recruitment and abductions.

As Mr. Rock had accused certain elements of the government forces of conspiring or in some cases directly assisting Karuna in abductions and recruitment, the government went public and refuted the claims and later demanded 'credible evidence' to back the allegations.

"There is still much abduction in Batticaloa district. 16 children and seven adults have been reported missing. Both LTTE and TMVP (Karuna) are suspected. Abductions are reported in the other districts as well, but not as many," the SLMM said. Mr. Maulana however said TMVP cadres had not recruited or abducted any children as of late and further disputed UNICEF figures of child recruitment by Karuna. "We have a total cadre strength of only 2000, so if you go by the UNICEF figures it would suggest most of our cadres are children and not adults. That is not the case and these are all fabricated allegations which ultimately play into the hands of the LTTE" The presence of political offices of the Karuna faction in the east has also raised concerns following a spate of abductions, most which remain unsolved and violent incidents with the Batticaloa police, also suggesting action to curb the uncontrollable activities of Karuna.

The weekly report of the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) country team, an independent INGO monitoring body, notes that the general situation in Batticaloa remains tense with ongoing daily reports of security incidents within the town and throughout the district. "The humanitarian community is deeply concerned by the increased number of paramilitaries in Batticaloa town. In Ampara there are renewed reports of abductions. The increased presence of armed civilians has heightened fears in communities," IASC said this week.

Meanwhile, IASC also said that GTZ, a leading German based humanitarian organization has decided to temporarily stop its activities in the Batticaloa district after two of its warehouses, in Valaichchenai and Kaluwanchikudy, were looted by armed men this week.