UN reports Gaddafi may be recruiting child soldiers
UN officials say they are getting reports that child soldiers are being recruited to fight for Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, which would be a war crime.
Unicef spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said there was “a serious concern” that child soldiers are among the mercenaries that Gaddafi is hiring to attack rebel forces.
The spokeswoman for the UN children’s agency said in Geneva the mercenaries come from Chad, Niger, Central African Republic and Sudan’s Darfur region, all places “with known child soldiers”.
The UN special envoy for children in armed conflicts, Radhika Coomaraswamy, also says human rights groups and local civilians are providing unconfirmed reports that children are being killed and injured by taking up arms in Libya.
