UN chief concerned by use of child soldiers among Darfur rebels

July 15, 2008 (UNITED NATIONS) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report that he was very worried that a Sudanese rebel group active in the country’s war-ravaged Darfur region appeared to be using child soldiers.

In a bleak report on the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) released on Tuesday, Ban also said he was “deeply disappointed” by the lack of progress that has been made towards ending the 5-year-old conflict in western Sudan.

Ban said that a surprise attack on the Sudanese capital Khartoum in May by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, which has generally confined its activities to Darfur, had highlighted the two sides’ inability to settle their differences at the negotiating table.

Khartoum had said after the JEM attack that some of the rebels it captured after the attack were children. Ban made it clear that he found this to be a disturbing development.

“I am particularly concerned by reports of child soldiers among the JEM combatants in Omdurman, in clear violation of international law,” Ban said.

“My office is pressing for the release of the children detained by the government (of Sudan) during the attack and I condemn the use of child soldiers in all instances.”

Khartoum accuses Chad of backing JEM and has refused to negotiate with either JEM or the Chadians since the attack. Chad accuses the Sudanese government of backing rebels hoping to bring down its government.

Both countries reject the other’s allegations.

“Tensions between Chad and the Sudan and the suspension of diplomatic relations between the two countries should also be highlighted as a source of considerable instability in Darfur and volatility on both sides of the border region,” Ban said.

There are currently around 9,500 UNAMID troops and police in Darfur, well below the planned 26,000-strong force.

(Reuters)