United Nations Children agency or UNICEF strongly condemned the abduction of scores of young boys by an armed group near Malakal, Upper Nile State.
In a statement on Saturday, UNICEF education team reported that about 89 children were abducted while doing their exams and that the actual number could be higher.
The incident occurred in the community of Wau Shilluk in Upper Nile State where thousands of people were internally displaced by the ongoing conflict.
According to witnesses, armed soldiers surrounded the community and searched house by house and took away by force boys of 12 years and above.
UNICEF Representative in South Sudan Jonathan Veitch urged the group to immediately release the children, saying ‘the recruitment and use of children by armed forces destroys families and communities’.
He reminded all parties involved in the conflict that the recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups is a grave violation of international law.