145 child soldiers released in South Sudan

By Parach Mach

JUBA, South Sudan

Some 145 children soldiers who had forcibly been recruited as soldiers were released in the country’s eastern town of Pibor, the United Nations children’s fund said Wednesday.

“Our hope is that [Tuesday's] release will be followed by many others so that the 16,000 children who are still in armed forces and armed groups will be able to return to their families,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s representative in South Sudan.

Some 1,775 children have been demobilized and separated from armed groups in South Sudan since 2014. But more than 16,000 children over the past year were still believed to be working with armed groups, according to UNICEF, as fighting raged between the government of President Salva Kiir and rebels allied to the former vice president, Riek Machar.

“With the ongoing fighting across the country, UNICEF continues to receive reports about the recruitment of children in Unity, Jonglei and other states,” said Mdoe.

UNICEF added it required an additional $4 million to continue providing the services needed for children released now and in the future.

The civil war in South Sudan started in December 2013 after Kiir accused Machar, who was then his deputy, of plotting a coup. Thousands have died and the conflict has displaced more than two million people, with another 2.4 million facing severe food shortages.