119 Child Soldiers Released in South Sudan

At least 119 child soldiers have been released back to their families by an armed group in South Sudan.

On Tuesday, 12 February – which coincides with the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers – the South Sudan National Liberation Movement (SSLM) released the children in Yambio, a city located over 400 kilometres away from the capital of Juba.

Forty-eight of the freed children are girls, and the youngest is only 10-years-old.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of children are used and recruited in armed conflict worldwide.

To date, 3 100 child soldiers have been released from armed conflict in South Sudan, which erupted in 2013 after the political split between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, triggered a civil war.

Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s executive director, commented on the children’s release: “While this is an encouraging development, there is a long way to go before over 19 000 children still in their ranks are returned to their families.”