The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan on Tuesday met Greater Pibor Area Chief Administrator David Yau Yau and calls for the release of the remaining children still being held by the Cobra Faction in the region.
Ellen Margrethe L√∏j welcomes the release of nearly 1,500 child soldiers, calling on Yau Yau to continue supporting efforts to secure the release of an estimated 500 child soldiers still associated with the Cobra Faction UN News Digest reported.
She earlier met with a group of some 500 former child soldiers reunited with their families in Pibor town.
The UNMISS Chief says UNICEF and partners’ achievement in helping to obtain the release of the children encouraged her, saying their work has only just begun.
Ms L√∏j stresses the need to ensure that the children have access to educational and health facilities and are protected from any future attempt to enlist them again in any military organization.
The UN estimates that 13 thousand children are associated with armed forces in South Sudan, with credible evidence indicating that both of the warring parties engage in the recruitment of child soldiers since the current conflict began in December 2013.