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How do children become child soldiers?

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Some rebel groups, such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, offer opportunity—food, shelter, and survival—to vulnerable youths, enticing them with incentives hard to get in fragile and unstable societies. It's not just children, Stover says. read more

The savagery continued till UNICEF intervened and took Baeh and other child soldiers away from their commander, offering rehabilitation and a life free from guns. Some 300,000 children around the world have been swept up into a life of violence, according to UNICEF. read more

Many children are born into war zones and end up fighting when they are very young. Sometimes they are raised by gangs or 'militia' in areas where there is a civil war. They often have no choice but to fight. read more

Most child casualties are civilians. But one of the most deplorable developments in recent years has been the increasing use of young children as soldiers. In one sense, this is not really new. For centuries children have been involved in military campaigns—as child ratings on warships, or as drummer boys on the battlefields of Europe. read more