Children in South Sudan victims of brutal crimes: UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says the warring sides in South Sudan have committed “unspeakable” brutal crimes against children.

UNICEF’s Executive Director Anthony Lake warned about a new rise in the level of brutality against the underage in South Sudan, saying thousands of children have been recruited by both government troops and rebel forces to take part in fighting, AFP reported on Friday.

“The details of the worsening violence against children are unspeakable, but we must speak of them,” said Lake, adding, “Survivors report that boys have been castrated and left to bleed to death... girls as young as eight have been gang raped and murdered.”

The UNICEF chief added there have been children whose throats were slit after being tied together. There have been others who were thrown into burning buildings, he said.

“Children are also being aggressively recruited into armed groups of both sides on an alarming scale - an estimated 13,000 children forced to participate in a conflict not of their making,” Lake said, adding, “Imagine the psychological and physical effects on these children - not only of the violence inflicted on them but also the violence they are forced to inflict on others.”

The UNICEF chief also said violence in the northern state of Unity, the scene of some of the heaviest clashes between the South Sudanese army and the forces loyal to rebel leader, Riek Machar, claimed the lives of at least 129 children only in May.

“In the name of humanity and common decency this violence against the innocent must stop,” Lake emphasized.

Tens of thousands have reportedly died in South Sudan since the conflict broke out over 18 months ago, when South Sudanese President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy, Machar, of planning a coup against his government. The row set off a cycle of retaliatory killings across the country, further dividing the newly-established country along ethnic lines.

The two sides have so far held several rounds of peace talks but have failed to reach a lasting peace deal.

Ethnic massacre, rape and the use of child soldiers have been the main characteristics of the conflict in South Sudan, with many warning about a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.

Estimates provided by the UN say more than two-thirds of the country’s 12 million people need aid, while 4.5 million people are facing severe food insecurity. Around a quarter of a million children also face starvation in the land-locked, poverty-stricken country.

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