ABOKO: Child abductions are on the rise during the ongoing South Sudan civil war as people are turning towards crimes to earn a living, the Associated Press reported on Sunday.
According to the report, one child is sold for 20 cattles worth $7,000. Deng Machar, resident of the opposition-held Akobo, said that three of his children, all aged under 5, were abducted by members of a rival tribe two year ago. “It would be easier if they were dead because then I could forget,” he said.
Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) executive director Edmund Yakani said that child abductions and trafficking is a real problem in South Sudan and that government needs to act to safeguard the citizens.
The NGO director further confirmed that 23 children from several parts of the war-torn country have been abducted since 2012.
The United Nations (UN) child protection team also confirmed abductions in the regions of Unity, Central Equatoria, Jonglei, Upper Nile and Western Equatoria last year, but the group said it did not have the exact number.
South Sudan, which split off from its northern neighbour Sudan in 2011, has been gripped by a four-year civil war sparked by political rivalry between incumbent leader Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar.