Gun men abduct 89 boys in Sudan

In the midst of growing turmoil and civil conflict in South Sudan, the nation has an ever increasing need for fighters as the bloodshed continues, and militias will get them any way they can. Every boy over the age of 12-years-old is at grave risk of being forced into battle where kidnappers infiltrate small towns, going door-to-door searching for victims they can take captive for their cause. The latest occurrence of this could likely be the largest in one sweep since the conflict began in 2011 when South Sudan seceded from Sudan following decades of war. Read more...

According to The Independent, at least 89 children were abducted in a massive raid by armed soldiers who stormed a South Sudanese school. The kidnapped students were taking a test when they were ripped from their seats and forced to leave with the militia. All those who were taken were boys, some as young as 12, Unicef announced Saturday.

The takeover took place in the community of Wau Shilluk in Upper Nile State, which is near the state’s capital Malakal. The international aid organization warned that there are at least 89 known kidnapped, but it’s likely the actual number of abductions is much higher.

“The recruitment and use of children by armed forces destroys families and communities,” Unicef Representative in South Sudan, Jonathan Veitch said in a statement. “Children are exposed to incomprehensible levels of violence, they lose their families and their chance to go to school.”

Since South Sudan split from Sudan to become their own nation, President Salva Kiir has been fighting a violent civil war with his former deputy Riek Machar, which has reportedly claimed the lives of tens of thousands Sudanese and confiscated as many a 12,000 children to be soldiers in the bloody fight.

The schoolhouse raid marks the resurgence of taking child soldiers, coming just weeks after the 300 captive children between 11 and 17 had been released as the result of a peace deal put into place between the government and rebel forces, the Independent reported.

Despite several signed ceasefire deals, the rampant violence continues to spread and has brought about mass killings and nationwide starvation. The United Nations has warned the militias that the abductions violate international law, a threat these soldiers likely couldn’t care less about.

It is incredibly unfortunate that children are being used to fight unjustified war and are robbed of their innocence and ultimately their lives, while little is being done to stop it.

Credit: CNN