Why it’s hard to get South Sudan’s former child soldiers back to school
More than 200 child soldiers have been freed from armed groups in South Sudan. The 112 boys and 95 girls, all under the age of 18, took part in a “laying down of arms ceremony” after which efforts will be made to reunite them with their families and their reintegration process will begin. The children were part of a new civil war that broke out in the Republic of South Sudan, two years after it was granted independence from Sudan. The ongoing conflict has ripped the country apart, making the living conditions for most South Sudanese worse than ever before. Characterised as a struggle over power and resources, the conflict is driven by corruption and ethnic rivalries. The main actors are the former rebel group and political party Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition led by former Vice President Riek Machar. About 19 000 child soldiers are thought to be part of the conflict and so the