At least 300 child soldiers have been released by armed groups in South Sudan in the second-largest release of people since the beginning of the civil war. UN statistics have projects that over 19,000 children are thought to have been recruited as soldiers by the opposing sides.
The “laying down of the guns” ceremony for 87 girls and 224 boys was the first step in a process that should see at least 700 child soldiers freed in the coming weeks, the United Nations said. The U.N. has released almost 2,000 child soldiers so far. More than 10 percent of them have been under age 13.
The children will be rehabilitated and reunited with their families with aid workers in S. Sudan expressing optimism in the resumption of healthy life for the kids primarily because of the new round of peace talks in Addis Ababa.
