I would add one reason to the ones already given by Chrys Jordan: because children make fierce, merciless soldiers. They can terrorize your targets with their extreme cruelty, as shown in so e African countries. read more
Indeed the word 'infantry', for foot-soldiers, can also mean a group of young people. What is frightening nowadays is the escalation in the use of children as fighters. Recently, in 25 countries, thousands of children under the age of 16 have fought in wars. 8 In 1988 alone, they numbered as many as 200,000. read more
And today, the number of countries using child soldiers is down to about 12. The number of child soldiers has declined but the method in which child soldiers are being used, and the places militias keep children, are harder and harder to find and document. read more