Daily Times

JUBA: President Barack Obama has issued waivers that continue millions of dollars in US military assistance for troubled South Sudan and six other nations where child soldiers have been used, disappointing advocates who say his administration hasn’t made curbing the use of children in combat a higher priority.

The waivers circumvent parts of the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act, which is meant to block certain kinds of military assistance. Waivers also have been granted to Somalia, Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Iraq and Myanmar. Aid to the countries varies dramatically. Iraq has received hundreds of millions in military support annually, while Myanmar received no military assistance in past years. South Sudan’s waiver stands out. The use of child soldiers is rampant in this East African country, where civil war erupted in late 2013 and fighting continues despite a peace deal. The United Nations says around 16,000 child soldiers have been recruited since the civil war began. One senior politician appointed by South Sudan President Salva Kiir led the recruitment of an entire village of boys as young as 12 using intimidation in August, according to an internal UN document obtained by The Associated Press.