US adds Turkey to list of countries implicated in use of child soldiers
Washington DC, USReuters The United States on Thursday added Turkey to a list of countries that are implicated in the use of child soldiers over the past year, placing a NATO ally for the first time in such a list, in a move that is likely to further complicate the already fraught ties between Ankara […]
Child soldiers carried out Burkina Faso massacre, say government
Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoReuters A massacre in north-east Burkina Faso in which more than 130 people were killed this month was carried out mostly by children between the ages of 12 and 14, the government said. Armed assailants raided the village of Solhan on the evening of 4th June, opened fire on residents and burned homes. […]
More than 8,500 children used as soldiers in 2020: UN
Updated: 10.15am (AEST)New York City, USReuters More than 8,500 children were used as soldiers last year in various conflicts across the world and nearly 2,700 others were killed, the United Nations said on Monday. UN chief Antonio Guterres’ annual report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict covers the killing, maiming and sexual […]
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 […]
Children seen at risk of recruitment in Central African Republic fighting
Thomson Reuters Foundation Armed groups have recruited nearly 3,000 children in Central African Republic since violence flared over a 27th December election result and more are at risk as aid fails to reach many people driven from their homes, aid workers said. More than 210,000 people have been uprooted by the fighting, with children increasingly […]
Quick facts – Ten facts about child soldiers around the world
Thomson Reuters Foundation Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could lead to more children being recruited by armed groups, the United Nations warned on Friday as the world marked the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers – also known as Red Hand Day. Despite global efforts to end the use of child soldiers, girls […]
Pandemic woes seen swelling global ranks of child soldiers
Thomson Reuters Foundation More children could be pushed into joining armed groups in conflict zones as families face increasing poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a top UN official warned on Friday. The exact number of child soldiers is unknown, but in 2019 alone about 7,740 children – some as young as six – were […]
UN warns child labour, trafficking on the rise in troubled Mali
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation More children have been trafficked, forced to work in gold mines and to fight as soldiers in Mali this year as conflict worsened and COVID-19 shut schools, the United Nations said on Tuesday. With security in Mali deteriorating, a network of humanitarian agencies led by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, documented […]
Congo vows zero tolerance over child soldiers after US anti-trafficking nod
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of CongoThomson Reuters Foundation The Democratic Republic of Congo must do more to end the use of child soldiers by the military and armed groups, its human rights minister said after the US Government commended the country’s progress on fighting human trafficking. The central African nation was upgraded last week in the […]
Child soldiers and deaths surge in Mali as violence worsens
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation The number of children forced to join armed groups in Mali has doubled since last year amid worsening jihadist and ethnic violence, the United Nations said on Tuesday. In the first six months of 2019, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, recorded 99 cases of children in Mali being recruited or used […]