Dozens of young boys kidnapped in S. Sudan
Unknown armed group believed to be responsible
Dozens of South Sudanese boys, some as young as 13, have recently been kidnapped by an armed group in South Sudan as they prepared for school exams, UNICEF reported Saturday. UNICEF did not say what group had abducted the boys from a displacement camp, but the kidnappings reportedly took place in an area controlled by government forces and allied militias. Several days ago, the rights group Human Rights Watch accused government forces of recruiting child soldiers in the same area. War broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 after the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the army split, triggering ethnic killings and fighting in many parts of the country. The two sides recently signed a peace agreement designed to establish a power-sharing government. The agreement set a March 5 deadline to reach a comprehensive peace deal. The government recently postponed elections that were due in June for two years. South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 after more than 22 years of civil war from 1983 to 2005. But tension between leaders of the SPLM deepened in 2013, leading to the outbreak of warfare. UNICEF, citing witnesses, said armed soldiers surrounded the com- munity of Wau Shilluk, near Malakal, a week ago and conducted house-to-house searches. At least 89 boys older than 12 were kidnapped. Six school teachers were also abducted. “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,” Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF representative in South Sudan, said in a statement. He said the recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups was a grave violation of international law. The abductions took place in an area under government control, close to an area where heavy fighting has recently occurred in violation of a ceasefire deal agreed to earlier this month.