Deadly landmine legacy in Tripoli shows stakes of Libya talks
Tripoli, LibyaReuters The death of Sadeeq Ferjani from a booby trap left by fighters in his home in southern Tripoli is a reminder of the deadly stakes at play in Libya as international powers meet in Berlin to discuss the crisis. Sadeeq, then 39 and planning to marry, went with three neighbours to check on damage after […]
From teaching to football, communities seen as key to ending use of child soldiers
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaThomson Reuters Foundation Listening to local communities is key to meeting a global goal of ending the use of children by armed groups by 2025, a top United Nations official and charities said on Thursday. Former child soldiers often face stigma when they return home and they risk being re-recruited if they cannot […]
SOUTH AMERICA: COLOMBIAN ARMED GROUPS RECRUITING DESPERATE VENEZUELANS, ARMY SAYS
HELEN MURPHY and LUIS JAIME ACOSTA, of Reuters, report…
Children as young as five recruited as child soldiers in world’s conflicts
Children as young as five are fighting on the frontlines in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to research commissioned by World Vision. The research, released to mark Red Hand Day – an international day against the use of child soldiers, found that children have participated in conflicts in at least 18 countries […]
More than 800 children released by armed group in Nigeria, says UNICEF
Some 833 children have been released by an armed group fighting against terror group Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria, according to UNICEF. The UN Children’s Agency welcomed the news which it said was the first formal release of children from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a group formed in 2013 by vigilantes to battle Boko […]
Thousands held in “unlawful and arbitrary” detention in Libya facing torture and abuse, says report
Thousands of people being held in unlawful arbitrary detention by armed groups in Libya are being tortured and abused, according to a UN report released this week. Released on Tuesday, the report – compiled by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in cooperatioon with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, estimates that […]
Colombia’s war-time rape victims silenced and without justice, says report
Thomson Reuters Foundation More than 15,000 women and girls suffered sexual violence, including rape, during Colombia’s civil war, with half of crimes involving children, a report said on Friday. It also revealed details of the use of forced prostitution during the war with bar owners turning women and girls into sex slaves for right-wing paramilitary […]
Poverty and state abuse, not religion, push Africans to militancy, says UN
Thomson Reuters Foundation Poverty and state violence, not religion, are driving young Africans to join militant groups, the United Nations said on Thursday, after interviewing almost 600 recruits. It is easiest for organisations like al-Shabaab and Boko Haram to recruit young people who are unemployed and frustrated about lack of opportunities and services in remote […]