Priests fasting leads to release of abducted orphan children

It was the prayers of at least 30 Tamil Christian priests that led to the subsequent release of orphan children abducted by militant LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in Sri Lanka.

On December 23, LTTE militants stormed the children's orphanage run by the Catholic Church in the war-torn Dahrmapuram, Kilinochchi region. As fears of defeat gripped the LTTE militants, they reportedly demanded that the children from the orphanage should join the fight for a Tamil homeland.

They later tied up the two Catholic priests who were running the institution and blindfolded the children, driving them away to the training camp.

A woman who lives adjacent to the church, the defence ministry said, witnessed the incident.

"Those innocent children tried in vain to cling on to the two priests. They pleaded with the LTTE cadres to let them go. But they were dragged like cattle taken to the slaughterhouse," the ministry quoted the woman as saying.

"I will never forgive myself for not helping those children. But I had to save my children first. That is why I left my home," the mother of two said, according to the army.

Fasting and prayers followed this, for the immediate release of the children. The fast, which began on Jan. 1, ended after the militants released the children without any conditions.

War between the Sri Lankan govt. and the Tamil LTTE has caused the island nation badly, as there has been an increase in the casualties even as the govt. troops seized the Tamil Tigers actual capital Kilinochchi.

In the civil war since 1983, at least 70,000 people have reportedly died.