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In South Sudan, a renewed bid to pull child soldiers out of conflict

In a country notorious for the use of child soldiers, an estimated 3,000 child soldiers are being reintegrated into society after a peace deal in a remote area was signed last May. But getting them to drop their guns is just the first step.

Some 300 boys in army fatigues sit under a grove of spindly trees in Pibor, a remote outpost in east South Sudan that —until last year— was the heart of a bloody rebellion that killed thousands. The boys are underage members of the Cobra Faction, a militia of the Murle ethnic group led by localÌýgeneralÌýDavid Yau Yau.
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Some are going through the telling changes of puberty.Ìý Others —as young as 11—clutch assault rifles nearly as big as themselves.Ìý

They've been fighting as child soldiers on the front lines of a two-year Murle insurgency that ended last May. One by one, in a procession watched by government, military, and United Nations officials, the boysÌýstand up,Ìýmarch past a Cobra commander, andÌýtoss their weapons to the ground.
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"I'm still young," says 14-year-old Michael, wearing an olive-green uniform too big for his small frame. "I need to go to school."
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This reverse coming-of-age ceremony,Ìýthe second to take placeÌýin the pastÌýmonth, isÌýpart of one of the largest child-soldier demobilization efforts in the short history of South Sudan, one of the world's most-active recruiters of children into armed groups.Ìý

The national Army had 12,000 child soldiers in 2005, when the South gained autonomous rule. Fewer than 500 remained by 2013, two years after full independence.ÌýBut after the outbreak of a newÌýcivil war in December 2013 –Ìýa conflictÌýthat did not include Cobra — more than 11,000 children came back into uniform on both sides, according toÌýUNÌýfigures.

Today, as Cobra fighters slowly integrate into the national Army, anyÌýsoldiers under 18 are screened outÌýto begin the process of transition into civilian life.ÌýCobra commanders estimateÌýup to 2,500 underage fighters will be sent from their ranks,Ìýbut the government and the United Nations child welfare agency, UNICEF, expect as many as 3,000.Ìý

It is a hopeful sign in a country where the use of child soldiers is not necessarily abhorred, and whose national heroesÌýhave been notorious for sending young boys to the front lines.ÌýBut dropping the guns is only the first step. A multi-group effort is working toÌýcreate a long-term program – finding the boys’ families, sending them to school,Ìýand providing psychological support— in an attempt to diffuse any possibility of future repeat recruitment.Ìý

The biggest uncertainty is that, if fighting picks up again, Mr. Yau Yau, enjoying amnesty since last May despite commanding youngsters in battle, might recruit them again.

"Release is not the problem," says Oluku Andrew Holt, national coordinator of South Sudan's child disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) program. "If anything goes wrong, and people go back to war, the children will be at risk."Ìý

A call to fight

At the demobilization ceremony, the boys sang Cobra war songs, praising Yau Yau and chanting Murle power slogans, for what many hope was the last time.

YauÌýYau himself didn’t hear them. He has sent a deputy to the event.

"Yes, there were children who fought or were killed. Most of them were not able to run as fast," says Apee Ojulu Ochudho, the deputy. "We think it’s worth it."

The Murle,Ìýa minority tribe centered in South Sudan’s vast and restive Jonglei state, have long felt marginalized by leaders in the capital, Juba, both before and after independence in 2011. There are no paved roads, public hospitals, or permanent school buildings in Pibor,Ìýthe largest Murle town.Ìý

In 2012, Yau Yau rebelledÌýin hopes of achieving self-rule.ÌýCivilians were killed on all sides, includingÌýÌýboth of Michael's parents.Ìý He fled to the Cobras, perversely finding protection among militants. Soon he joined them.

"I wanted revenge," says Michael,Ìýwhose name is changed for his protection.
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Michael’s reasons for fightingÌýseem simple. More complicated is why local communities allow young boys to join the ranks of a militia at all. Cattle herders —like the Murle— traditionally consider adulthood to start at puberty, and see armed boys as honorable community protectors, especially after decades of war broke down normal social hierarchies.

At the ceremony, one high-level Cobra commanderÌýevenÌýcommented that his own son was among the children to be released, showing that the use of child soldiers is not only driven by generals who forcibly recruit,Ìýbut also by parents, who during times of extreme poverty or violence have no other option for their children. Ìý

After two years of fighting,Ìýthe government sued for peace with Yau Yau. He received amnesty forÌýanyÌýcrimes committed and was appointed ruler of an autonomous Murle quasi-state called Greater Pibor. His Cobra soldiers were granted positions in the national Army. As the ex-rebels officially register for duty, Mr. Holt's DDR program identifies underage fighters for release.

But that's just the start for the boys' return to childhood.

Going back to normal

"Reintegration will be a continuous thing for the next two, three years," says Holt. "The future may be bleak if they are not supported."

The boys are now in an "interim care center" where they'll live for the next three months. They will receive medical checkups, take classes, and participate in discussion groups to ease transition to civilian life while their living relatives are traced.
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"We want to get these boys back with their families as quickly as possible," says Shaun Collins, a UNICEF psychosocial counselor in Pibor.
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He estimates that 10-15 percent of the boys have major psychological problems. Some instinctively march each morning, unable to shake their military routines; others show high levels of aggression.

Michael says he's still bothered by the memory of older soldiers looting the dead body of a friend killed in combat.
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After the care center, children will return home and enrollÌýin schools soon to be built by Yau Yau's new administrationÌýand aid groups. An equal number of noncombatant children will benefit from the program, so families in this neglected area do not viewÌýjoining armed groupsÌýas a ticket toÌýeducation.

A threat of recruitmentÌý

The success of all the planning and support,Ìýhowever,Ìýdepends on sustainable peace. South Sudan has a troubled history of releasing child soldiers in peacetime, only to recruit them again.

In 2010, Holt oversaw the release of 57 child soldiers in Pibor after a smaller Cobra rebellion. Two years later, Yau Yau went back to the bush, mobilizing the thousands now being released.
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Holt, who has worked to free child soldiers for the past 13 years, suspects some of the 57 rejoined, giving each ceremony a bittersweet sense of déjà vu.
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"I become so emotional doing one thing over and over again," he says. "In 2015 ... we are not supposed to be talking of release of children."
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For now, the Pibor cease-fire holds andÌýthe 300 ex-Cobra members are safe. But potential for conflict remains.
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Greater Pibor lies between rebel and government forces in the wider civil war, and the Murle can easily be pulled back into the conflict.

Mr. Apee,ÌýYau Yau’s deputy, insists they don't want war again, but complainsÌýJuba still hasn't sent the Greater Pibor administration its budgetÌýsinceÌý theÌýpeace deal was signed nine months ago.

Back at the grove of trees, a group of older Cobra soldiers collect the children's discarded rifles. They will be stored in a barracks,Ìýin case they areÌýneeded again.