IJINHA

NEWS CENTER – UNICEF says that armed groups in the Central African Republic have released 357 child soldiers as part of a deal with the involvement of the UN.

UNICEF says the children have received medical screenings and efforts are underway for children to receive psychological support. Some will stay with foster families until their families are found. The UN agency estimates that between 6,000 and 10,000 children are held by armed factions in the Central African Republic. They are used in range of tasks in the armed organizations, from fighting to cooking to spying and carrying messages.

Fighting between the Anti-Balaka and Séléka groups started in 2012 and left thousands dead and one million displaced. Negotiations in the capital of Bangui are ongoing between the groups. The Anti-Balaka militias released 290 children; Séléka groups released 67.

The announcement comes several weeks after another report of child rights abuses in the Central African Republic when an NGO revealed that 14 French soldiers in the country as "peacekeepers" had sexually abused young children in refugee camps in exchange for food, in a scandal that the UN had kept quiet for months.

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