Colombo  - SLankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will launch a national campaign against the recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, the president's office said Wednesday.

The campaign will be launched on Thursday under which child soldiers will also be rehabilitated with the assistance of local and foreign organizations, the office statement said.

"This special initiative is necessary because preventing child recruitment, in tandem with the freeing of all children already recruited and brutalized, is at the core of our final thrust to eradicate the scourge of terrorism from our nation," Rajapaksa said.

According to available reports, before 2003 it was estimated that out of nearly 14,000 LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) fighters, nearly 60 per cent or 8,500 were children under 18 years.

These were often referred to as the LTTE's "Baby Brigade." There was more reliable information after this, when parents began reporting to UNICEF offices of the forced recruitment of children.

The president's office said that according to the latest figures - in December 2008 - the total under the age of 18 years recruited by the LTTE was 6,288.

However, the LTTE has claimed that 2,059 of these have been released, the president's office said, adding that the claim requires verification.

The campaign comes amidst reports from the UNICEF that rebels were continuing to recruit children in the limited areas which they continue to control in the north-eastern part of the country.

Troops claim they have restricted the rebels to an area less than 80 square kilometres, but some 70,000 persons including children remain trapped, as rebels are not allowing them to move out.

Over 35,000 civilians have fled the rebel-held areas in the north into government-controlled areas. Among them have been a number of child soldiers, military officials said. dpa