Recruitment of Children as Soldiers in Sub-Saharan Africa Research Paper

Recruitment of Children as Soldiers in Sub-Saharan Africa - Research Paper Example African continent experienced frequent civil conflicts especially in the sub-Saharan region such as Rwanda, Liberia, DRC and Burundi, just to mention but a few. In this war torn region, the harrowing development is that children are used as sex slaves. One of the groups in Africa that recruit minors as soldiers are the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) govern by Joseph Kony. For more than two decades, this rebel group has fought the government of Uganda and has recruited minors in this war. Their leader, Joseph, has over the period replenished his war force by abducting young people to recruit. This has been his primary means of maintaining his small army group over the years because the local community has shown little or no support. The minors abducted are then taken to southern Sudan to receive harsh-seasoned training. Cases of body mutilation using machetes were reported where the LRA undertook forceful recruitment. This was common whenever the victims developed resistance. It is, therefore, important to note that the victims are recruited by means of coercion such as forced recruitment and compulsory conscription.The latter may involve identifying the victims using their date of birth.In cases where abduction was employed such as Ethiopia, the rebel groups used to besiege a public place such as marketplaces and select the victims using eligibility criteria. . In cases where the victim demonstrated resistance, the rebels would apply brutish techniques aimed at weakening and subduing them.