20th May, 2015
Dozens of children as young as seven-years-old have been killed, raped, and, abducted and recruited as soldiers in a series of attacks in South Sudan’s Unity State over a two week period, according to eyewitness reports UNICEF says it has received.
The child-focused UN agency says dozens of testimonies tell of how children have been both the victims and the perpetrators of the recent violence with witnesses reporting they believed the attacks were undertaken by armed groups aligned with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
"Survivors reported to UNICEF staff that whole villages were burned to the ground by armed groups, while large numbers of girls and women were taken outside to be raped and killed – including children as young as seven," the organisation said in a statement released on Monday. "At least 19 boys – some as young as 10 years of age – and seven girls were killed. Others were mutilated or recruited to join the fighting and take care of stolen cattle."
Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s representative in South Sudan, said the deliberate targeting of children was an "outrage".
“If children are to be protected from further harm, an immediate cessation of hostilities is urgently needed, together with full access for humanitarian workers. An urgent and thorough investigation is also required to identify and hold accountable those responsible for these latest atrocities against children.”
While South Sudanese military groups recently released almost 1,500 child soldiers, it’s estimated that as many as 13,000 children in the country are being used by all sides in the conflict which broke out in December, 2013, between forces loyal to then vice-president Riek Machar and those loyal to President Salva Kiir.
An estimated 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict with about half of them children.
– DAVID ADAMS