LONDON (AlertNet) - Child soldiers are an often forgotten part of war. Precise figures are extremely hard to come by but the United Nations estimates that 300,000 boys and girls – some as young as nine years old – are currently used by rebel groups and government forces as fighters, sexual slaves, spies, messengers and porters. They are on the frontline of more than 20 conflicts around the world.
Click on the continents below to find out about child soldiers in conflicts around the world. The descriptions are based on the Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The next report is due to be published in 2008.
Shoes belonging to HIV infected children are lined up outside a room in an orphanage run by the Fuyang AIDS Orphan Salvation Association in Fuyang, Anhui province November 27, 2009. Picture ...
