London, July 28 - Despite the end of hostilities, children in Sri Lanka continue to be at risk of forced recruitment, arbitrary detention and other human rights abuses, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers said Tuesday.

In a new briefing to the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, the Coalition urged the Sri Lankan authorities to act immediately to protect conflict-affected children.

Children are among dozens of people who have been detained by security forces in internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Vavuniya, in the island's north, apparently for their alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In one case in June, a group of four or five girls and boys from a camp in Menik Farm were reportedly detained and questioned by the military.

One of the girls admitted that she had been with the LTTE for two days. The children were subsequently taken away and there has been no news of them since.