More child soldiers demobilised in Bahr al-Ghazal

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday that 909 child soldiers had been demobilised from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Bahr al-Ghazal, southern Sudan, over the last two months.

"The removal of more than 900 children in December and January from the SPLA marks another significant inroad into the number of children being used as soldiers," UNICEF said on Tuesday.

The 909 were in addition to the 3,551 child soldiers removed from the SPLA - the military wing of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - between February and August of 2001, UNICEF said. Those children had been demobilised by the SPLA in fulfilment of a pledge the rebel group made to Carol Bellamy, the executive director of UNICEF, during a visit she paid to southern Sudan in October 2000.

A UNICEF spokesperson told IRIN on Tuesday that the demobilisation work was being carried out by an SPLM taskforce, which had received training and support from UNICEF.

Of the 909 newly demobilised child soldiers, 233 had been demobilised in Aweil West, 170 in Gogrial, 361 in Aweil East and 145 in Aweil South, according to UNICEF figures. A total of 147 had already been reunited with their families, UNICEF added.

An additional 918 child soldiers were currently taking part in demobilisation processes in Aweil West and Gogrial.

"The numbers show a continuing commitment to tackling a complex and deep-seated issue, which will bring new opportunities to the children involved," UNICEF said.