S. Sudan army summons militia leader over child soldiers
March 3, 2015 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese militia leader accused of forcefully abducting hundreds of children in Upper Nile state has been summoned by the army, sources told Sudan Tribune
The SPLA has, however, clarified that they have no control over Oliny’s militia.
“The SPLA [South Sudan Army] general headquarters in Juba summoned Major General Johnson Oliny to provide further clarification of this report of children being abducted from schools and recruited into the army,” an army source said Tuesday.
The army spokesperson, Col. Philip Aguer confirmed that the deputy chief of staff indeed summoned Oliny to Juba after issuing instructions to field commanders not to recruit children into the army.
“The deputy chief of staff of the SPLA instructed Major General Johnson Oliny to come to Juba and give a briefing on what exactly happened,” Aguer said, but did not further elaborate on the matter.
Oliny, a former rebel commander, joined the army in 2013 after accepting president Salva Kiir’s amnesty extended to his armed faction.
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The recruitment and use of child soldiers continues to be a major challenge in South Sudan, despite commitments by the government and the opposition led by Riek Machar to protect children from the impact of conflict, Leila Zerrougui, the special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict observed.
“No children have been released from the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) or Riek Machar’s opposition,” Zerrougui said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.
“Instead, we are receiving reports of hundreds of new recruitment of child soldiers by militias and groups aligned with the Government or the SPLA in Opposition,” she added.
UNICEF South Sudan representative, Jonathan Veitch demanded that the abductees be immediately released by the armed militias.
“We fear they are going from the classroom to the front line,” he said.
“UNICEF appeals to Johnson Oliny to let those children go back to school and be with their families, immediately,” he added, further appealing to South Sudan government to use whatever influence it has to secure release of the abducted school children.
According to the UN, South Sudan is one of seven countries involved in the campaign “Children not Soldiers”, which aims to end the recruitment and use of children in Government armed forces in conflict by 2016.
Led by Zerrougui and UNICEF, the campaign reportedly mobilises global support and financial resources so the seven government armed forces listed in the UN secretary-general’s annual report on children and armed conflict become and remain child-free.
(ST)