The LTTE has a long record of recruiting children for combat. Irrespective of gender, children as young as nine years are conscripted mostly by coercion; the average child recruitment age stands at 14 to 17 years. Though the exact number of child soldiers with the LTTE is not available, there are nearly 700 complaints pending with the UNICEF on forced recruitment. The actual figure, however, could be 10 times higher, given the fact that majority of the people do not complain. In the year 2002 alone nearly 300 children were roped in by the Tigers to augment its strength.

Known as Sirasu Puli (‘Leopard Brigade’), baby brigades of the LTTE are composed entirely of children; it is one of the LTTE's most fierce fighting forces. The child recruitment system of the Tigers is sophisticated, using prominent places of congregationâ€â€