Child Soldiers Freed By South Sudan Militia
January 28, 2015
Yesterday, a militia in South Sudan freed 280 of its child soldiers. The release is part of a peace treaty between the government of Sudan and a militia known as the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra Faction. The militia is led by David Yau Yau, who signed the treaty in May 2014, which stipulated, among other things, the militia’s release of 3,000 child soldiers over the coming months.
A child soldier in military uniform in the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army, a militia in rebellion against the government of South Sudan. © Samir Bor, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Fighting between militias of southern Sudanese fighters and the government of Sudan has gone on for decades. South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011. Since then, thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in fighting between the militias of various ethnic groups. There are about 10 armed groups—militias—fighting in South Sudan in support of various ethnicities. Many of these militias use child soldiers. Often the children are forced into service. Sometimes, however, the children join because they have no other way to support themselves or survive. Militias often choose such young soldiers because they are more easily influenced and can be swayed to follow orders without questioning them.
Children have served in armed conflicts for much of history. In 1989, the United Nations treaty Convention on Rights of the Child contained an article prohibiting countries from using children under 18 in armed conflict and making the recruitment of children under 15 a war crime. Many of the armies that use child soldiers, however, are not headed by countries but by individual militias. Children are often recruited as young as 7 or 8 years of age.
One of the major challenges with child soldiers is reintegrating them back into their society after their release. Even when it is possible to reunite these children with their families, and many child soldiers are orphans, children who have seen so much violence may be traumatized by the events. Sometimes, child soldiers have been recruited at such a young age that violent acts are the behaviors with which they are most familiar. And, communities in which a child has committed an atrocity (cruel or brutal act) may hold such an act against the child.
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