UNICEF: 89 Children Abducted by Armed Group in South Sudan
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PeterHermesFurian/iStock/Thinkstock(JUBA, South Sudan) — The United Nations Children’s Fund said on Saturday that an armed group has abducted as many as 89 children in South Sudan.
A UNICEF education team said that the children were taking exams in the community of Wau Shilluk, and that the number of children involved “could be much higher.” In the region, thousands of people have been internally displaced by conflict, UNICEF says.
UNICEF Representative Jonathan Veitch called for the release of the abducted children, saying that “the recruitment and use of children by armed forces destroys families and communities.”
“Children are exposed to incomprehensible levels of violence,” Veitch added. “They lose their families and their chance to go to school.”
It was not immediately clear what group was responsible for the abduction. UNICEF says that witnesses reported armed soldiers surrounding the community and searching each house, taking boys over the age of 12 away by force.
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