Over 500 child soldiers demobilised in south

Some 562 child soldiers in southern Sudan have been released and reunited with their parents under a new demobilisation programme being carried out by the international organisation, Save the Children-Sweden. Alebel Derib, the organisation's programme manager in southern Sudan, told IRIN on Tuesday that the event - which took place between 3 and 10 August in Bor North and South counties, Jonglei State - was the first in a series of child demobilisations in the region. Most of the freed children were part of a civil defence group charged with protecting the community and its resources, he said. Prior to this, Save the Children-Sweden had identified and registered 1,210 children serving with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which controls large swathes of territory in the south of the country. "Many of them were serving as community guards, protecting villages," Derib said. "This has to stop. We have been raising awareness in the communities. They have agreed to get the children back to school." According to Derib, the demobilisation is being carried out with the support of the SPLM, which has developed a policy against recruiting children as soldiers. "The movement no longer has intentions to use children to fight," he said. "They have made a commitment against using child soldiers." The demobilised children are to be integrated back into their communities. In a statement, Save the Children-Sweden said a programme was being launched to refurbish 12 schools, build a teacher training centre and strengthen a youth education centre. "These institutions will not only serve the returnee children but other youth and children in the community, hence facilitating the reintegration of demobilised child soldiers," the organisation said.