Darfur: 6,000 children soldiers

There are around 6,000 childen soldiers in Darfur region in civil war in western Sudan, and about two million children are affected by this conflict, according to an official of the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF). "All armed groups and factions in Darfur have among them children. We believe the number of children (soldiers) in Sudan approximately 8,000. About 6,000 of them are in Darfur," said to the press, on Monday, the Representative of UNICEF in Sudan Ted Chaiban.

• "This does not mean they all have weapons and they fight, but they are beside armed groups. We saw children in uniform and carrying arms in almost each of the forces," he added.
  
  Youth have also been associated with Sudan Armed Forces SAF, he added.
      Of 400 cases reported this year, the younger soldiers in the Darfur rebels had 11 years, but most were between 15 and 17 years.
  
  A young person under 18 is considered a child, according to the international community and Sudanese law. But in many tribal cultures, a young person is charged as an adult after puberty.
  
  "Two million children are affected by the conflict and among them, I think 700,000 were born after 2004. They have only lived in a war zone," said Chaiban.
• AFP