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12 Things To Know About The Kidnapped Boys In South Sudan

12 Things To Know About The Kidnapped Boys In South Sudan

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On Feb. 15, armed men in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State kidnapped a group of schoolboys in the region’s Wau Shilluk area, an area of vast oil resources. While this is not a unique occurrence throughout South Sudan’s civil war, it is one of the largest and most high-profile kidnappings in recent history. Though many details of the case are murky at this time, here are 12 things you should know about the kidnapped boys of South Sudan.

Sources: AllAfrica.com, BBC.com, DW.de, ABC.net.au, NYTimes.com, News.Yahoo.com, SputnikNews.com

Static9.net.au
Static9.net.au

Schoolboys were taken from Wau Shilluk while taking their exams

On Feb. 15 and 16, 2015, armed men went door-to-door in Wau Shilluk, the government-held area of South Sudan in the Upper Nile state. The kidnappers forcefully took any boys thought to be over the age of 12.

UCCROB.uu
UCCROB.uu

The region has seen intense fighting in recent weeks

Wau Shilluk, near Malakal – the capital of Upper Nile State — has been the scene of recently intensified fighting between rebel forces and government troops. The region is under government control, and is extremely valuable due to its vast oil resources.

SpaceDaily.com
SpaceDaily.com

Initially estimated at 89, kidnapped boys are now believed to be in the 100s

While government agencies and human rights groups initially estimated the number of boys taken at 89, it is now believed that number is well into the hundreds — part of a mass recruitment operation.

CloudFront.net
CloudFront.net

The boys have been taken to a training camp

Since the abduction, witnesses have reported seeing some of the boys carrying guns in what is thought to be a training camp. As UNICEF’s South Sudan representative Jonathan Veitch said, “We fear (the children) are going from the classroom to the front line.”

Source: BBC.com

Johnson Olony SudanTribune.com
Johnson Olony
SudanTribune.com

The country’s military may be behind the kidnappings

Johnson Olony, the chief of the government-aligned Shilluk Militia, is believed to be responsible for leading the kidnapping raid. He was summoned to South Sudan’s capital in Abuja to respond to the charges. The government’s military, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), claimed that Olony’s militia is unaffiliated and was operating outside its control and without its direction.

Reuters.net
Reuters.net

Olony was a major general in the SPLA in 2013

Following South Sudan’s independence and the formal establishment of its military, Olony, a former rebel fighter, became a major general in the country’s army as a part of an amnesty agreement in 2013. The forces in his Shilluk Militia, however, were never officially integrated into the military forces.

Philip Aguer Gurtong.net
Philip Aguer
Gurtong.net

Olony is meant to report to Abuja for a “briefing on the matter”

According to army spokesman Philip Aguer, Olony has “been ordered to report to SPLA (army) headquarters for a briefing. We firmly believe that our army must be strong and disciplined and our children need to be healthy and educated.” There was no immediate response from Olony.

Source: News.Yahoo.com

AmnestyUSA.org
AmnestyUSA.org

An estimated 12,000 children are already fighting in the civil war

Both sides of South Sudan’s most recent civil war – forces loyal to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and those to his former deputy, Riek Machar – are thought to be using child soldiers in battle. War broke out two years ago.

President Salva Kiir BBC.co.uk
President Salva Kiir
BBC.co.uk

South Sudan’s government condemned the kidnappings

Despite claims that the government had a hand in the kidnappings, and evidence that shows both sides have used child soldiers during the conflict, President Kiir’s spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny, condemned the abduction, saying, “The government of South Sudan will not tolerate the use of our children for violence…This is the equivalent to the Boko Harm of South Sudan.”

Source: ABC.net.au

NewVision.co.ug
NewVision.co.ug

Few children have been released despite heavy international pressure and attention

In January 2015, nearly 300 child soldiers were released from the rebel group led by David Yau Yau. Since that time, however, no children have been reported released, according to Leila Zerrougui, U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Source: SputnikNews.com

UN.org
UN.org

The UN Security Council has a system to impose sanctions

On March 3, 2015, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution to impose sanctions on South Sudan, including travel bans and asset freezes, putting more pressure on the factions to reach a peace deal. Though it didn’t specifically name Kiir and Machar as leaders who will be specifically blacklisted and subjected to the terms of the sanctions, it mentions “leaders of any entity.” Talks between the two factions were ongoing in Ethiopia with a deadline of March 5 to reach a deal. Multiple deadlines for peace have come and gone in the last two years.

Source: AllAfrica.com

Turner.com
Turner.com

The civil war has killed thousands, displaced millions, and created a dire food shortage in South Sudan

UNICEF estimates that tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in just the last two years. Furthermore, 1.5 million people have been displaced and now operate under refugee status, while an additional 2.5 million are in need of urgent food aid.

Source: News.Yahoo.com