Ch il dr en at War

in Africa
• There are currently more than 120,000 child
soldiers involved in armed conflict in Africa.

• In Somalia alone, an estimated 200,000 children

have carried a gun or been involved with militia
since 1991. In Sudan, an estimated 17,000
children are associated with armed forces. Sierra
Leone is home to more than 11,000 child
soldiers.

This is just a part of the picture - these

figures are typical of many African
countries embroiled in war.

(Uni cef 2 006 )

Bang Bang You’re Dead
15 year-old ‘John’ has been fighting for 4 years
‘AK’ has been fighting since the age of 6
9 year-old fighter in Sierra Leone
7 year-old child soldier - Central African Republic
Liberian guerrilla – 11 years old
12 year-old readying for conflict
8 year-old Somalian boy with AK47
Rwandan warlords
Young recruit - Democratic Republic of Congo
“The average African child soldier is aged 13 to 17,
but some are as young as 7 or 8. They wield
weapons in battle, serve as human mine detectors,
participate in suicide missions, and act as spies,
messengers, or lookouts.”

(H uman Right s W at ch 2006 )

 “Child soldiers are forced to commit atrocities
against members of their own community,
sometimes members of their own family.
They are terrorized into compliance by being
threatened with death if they try to run away,
and are even forced to kill other children who try
to escape.
Survivors are left with terrible psychological scars.”

(D r Ilse Derluyn, Ghent University, Belgium 2006)