S. Sudan rebel groups release 145 child soldiers
Child soldiers preparing to lay down their arms at a ceremony of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in Pibor overseen by Unicef in South Sudan on June 25, 2015. Child soldiers have also been released this year. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The children were recruited by the Cobra Faction and the SPLA In Opposition, two armed groups fighting the government.
JUBA
Some 145 child soldiers fighting for two rebel groups in South Sudan have been released, Unicef has announced.
The children were recruited by the Cobra Faction and the SPLA In Opposition, two armed groups fighting the government.
They were freed in the eastern region of Pibor and “disarmed and provided with civilian clothes”, Unicef said in a statement.
About 16,000 children are still in “armed groups”, it says.
Unicef said it was the largest release of child fighters since last year but warned that children were still being recruited by various groups.
Mahimbo Mdoe, Unicef’s representative in South Sudan, urged all parties to “end the recruitment and to release children who are currently serving in their ranks”.
Silva, 11-years-old, a freed child soldier, told BBC: “I have been fighting for more than two years. I haven’t seen my mother and father since last summer.
"I’ve seen many people killed when I was on missions. I had an AK-47. It was heavy. I was fighting to protect my family and village. Now I want to go to school . I don’t want to fight anymore.”
South Sudan plunged into internal strife in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his rival, former Vice-President Riek Machar of plotting a coup.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands forced from their homes in the latest fighting.
