The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has said it is concerned by reports that guerrillas in Colombia are recruiting refugee children to fight.

The UNHCR said it had received reports that illegal armed groups have been recruiting boys from under 18 years old in the areas bordering Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

In a statement, the UNHRC said any such recruitment constitutes a violation of international law and children's rights.

It said it feared that the reported recruitment of children would increase the confusion between armed combatants fighting in Colombia and the innocent civilian victims of the four-decade-long civil war.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service