{UAH} AND SADLY THIS IS VERY NORMAL TO ALLAN BARIGYE

Militants Kidnap Dozens Of Young Boys In South Sudan: UNICEF

 |  By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

Posted: 02/21/2015 10:53 am EST Updated: 02/21/2015 10:59 am EST

Young boys, children soldiers sit on February 10, 2015 with their rifles at a ceremony of the child soldiers disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in Pibor over sawn by UNICEF and partners. (Samir Bol /Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) | Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — An armed group in South Sudan has abducted at least 89 boys in a northern state, the U.N. children's agency said Saturday.

The boys, some as young as 13, were abducted near Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state, according to a UNICEF statement.

Malakal, which is currently under government control, has recently seen intense fighting between rebel forces and government troops who accuse each other of violating multiple peace agreements.

Armed men surrounded the community and searched house by house, forcibly taking boys older than 12, said witnesses, according to the UNICEF statement, which said the latest abductions were carried out while the children were doing their exams in the Wau Shilluk area. The number of those abducted could be much higher, it added.

It is not clear which group carried out the abductions.

Last year 12,000 children were used as soldiers by armed forces and groups across South Sudan, according UNICEF.

"The recruitment and use of children by armed forces destroys families and communities. Children are exposed to incomprehensible levels of violence, they lose their families and their chance to go to school," said Jonathan Veitch, the UNICEF representative in South Sudan.

Watchdog groups have persistently accused South Sudan's warring factions of actively recruiting and using child soldiers. South Sudan's military and rebels are actively enlisting children despite promises to the contrary, Human Rights Watch said in a report last week.

South Sudanese officials strongly denied the allegations, saying standing orders forbid the military from recruiting children. Rebels have not responded to the charges.

South Sudan's current conflict started in December 2013 when forces led by former Vice President Riek Machar fought troops loyal to President Salva Kiir.

 

 

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On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
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