Child Soldiers

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Warlords are forcing children in conflicts around the world to become killing machines -- nothing more than what one child advocate calls "cannon fodder." Some children are kidnapped from their schools or their beds, some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered, some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries from Colombia, and across Africa and the Middle East to South Asia. Once recruited, many are brainwashed, trained, given drugs and then sent into battle with orders to kill. There is no escape for what the United Nations and human rights groups estimate are 250,000 child soldiers today. These children, some as young as 8, become fighters, sex slaves, spies, and even human shields.

Contents 1 History 2 Trends 3 Statistics 4 Countries 5 External Links 5.1 News Reports 5.2 Analysis 5.3 Governmental Reports 5.4 Campaigns

[edit] History

[edit] Trends

[edit] Statistics

• More than 250,000 child soldiers are being used in wars in Africa.[1]

[edit] Countries

Afghanistan

Burundi

Chad

Colombia

Congo-Zaire

Guinea

Haiti

India

Iraq

Ivory Coast

Myanmar

Nepal

Palestine

Philippines

Rwanda

Uganda

Sri Lanka: For two decades, children have been kidnapped or recruited into the Tamil militia. These child soldiers suffer both mentally and physically as a result.

Sudan

• Map: CNN

[edit] External Links

[edit] News Reports

• CNN
• Child Soldiers are a time bomb
• Child soldiers in Congo-Zaire

[edit] Analysis

• UNICEF Report
• Amnesty International

[edit] Governmental Reports

• US Department of State

[edit] Campaigns

• World Vision: No Child Soldiers Campagin
• ChildSoldiers.org
• Child-Soldiers.org