Tiger leaders, government representatives and UN diplomats ceremonially lit a traditional coconut oil lamp to mark the opening of a transit home for child soldiers, but the children themselves were shielded from the international media.

Unicef did not allow journalists to interview the 27 girls and 22 boys who became the first batch of children demobilised by the Tigers under the project funded by the UN agency.

"Our main concern is the children and we want to do everything possible to protect their identity and make it easier for them to go back to their homes," a spokeswoman for Unicef, the United Nations Children's Fund, told reporters here.

The children will sleep in bunk beds in the converted building before they are deemed ready to return to their families.

"This is a big day for the children who have been among the people at most risk during the conflict," said Ted Chaiban, the head of Unicef in Sri Lanka. "But, there are still cases of recruitment and it has to stop."

"We need to see an end to child soldiers in Sri Lanka."