Darfur’s Child Refugees Being Sold to Militias

[babylonsister]

Darfur’s Child Refugees Being Sold to Militias
by Julian Borger


DARFUR - Thousands of child refugees from Darfur, some as young as nine, are being abducted and sold to warring militias as child soldiers, a British human rights group reports today.


The organisation, Waging Peace, has filmed testimony in refugee camps in eastern Chad, describing how children, mostly boys between nine and 15, have been forcibly taken from their families by camp leaders, who are then trafficking them to militias.

Today’s report singles out the Darfur rebel group fighting the Khartoum government, the Justice and Equality Movement, as the main offender. But it says a variety of groups, including the Chadian army and opposing rebels, are also involved.

“This recruitment is taking place every day, in full view of the CNAR {Chadian government body in charge of refugees} and Chadian armed forces, who turn a blind eye to what is going on, and despite the presence of EU troops,” the report says.

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/07/9462/