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Columbia rebels training kids for war
Published on Thu, Jun 08, 2006 at 17:09, Updated on Thu, Jun 08, 2006 at 17:37 in World section
Tags: Columbia, Communist Rebels , Bogota
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Bogota (Colombia): Colombia has one of the world's highest number of child soldiers fighting in its decades-old civil war. Human rights groups say they number between 11,000 and 14,000.
A new video seized by the Columbia national army sheds light on how communist rebels are training children.
The video shows raw recruits being prepared for combat in Colombia's largest communist guerrilla army - Fuerzas Armada Revolucionarios de Columbia (FARC) or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The video was seized by the Colombian army after a recent firefight. Military officials say the recently confiscated video offers fresh insight into rebel training and shows that child reruitment is continuing.
A child recruit, German, says that he joined FARC when he was 15 years old and quit when he turned 18. He joined the guerrillas to seek revenge against right-wing gunmen who kidnapped his father.
"Pyschologically it's very tough. It is something that will always mark my life. I will always have that memory of fighting and killing people, but if you're at war its your life or the other person's life. You have to deal with it and defend yourself," says he.
"Training is real tough and its difficult to get used to. I never imagined it would be like that but then you realise that those are the norms and you try to fit in," he adds.
Human rights groups have documented cases of child soldiers who are 10-years-old and younger.
They along with Colombian authorities estimate 20 per cent of child soldiers are recruited by force, while others join to escape abuse, family problems and poverty.
Says Director Colombian Family Welfare Institute, Beatriz Londono, "Many of these children become child soldiers because they want to, not just because they're recruited. They decide to go to guerrillas or paramilitary groups because they have no other option."
A range of international organisations and governments are backing initiatives to get children off the battlefield.
But as the confiscated rebel training video shows, thousands of Colombian children are still getting sucked into the chaos of war.
(With inputs from Swetha Balasubramanian in New Delhi)
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