MOSCOW (Sputnik) — An armed group kidnapped 89 boys older than 12 in South Sudan, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement published Saturday.
The statement quoted Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF representative in the region, as decrying the destruction of families and communities by way of recruiting children into armed conflict.
"Children are exposed to incomprehensible levels of violence, they lose their families and their chance to go to school," Veitch said.
Among other human rights abuses the UN Security Council documented in South Sudan, the recruitment of child soldiers by armed groups in the country was highlighted as the most pressing issue.
In January, almost 300 child soldiers were released from the South Sudan rebel group led by David Yau Yau.
Following the release, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui said that "thousands more" children remained in the ranks of the various warring parties in South Sudan.
