Chad: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Dealing With Child Soldiers

analysis

The world does not need to be reminded of the existence of children associated with armed forces and groups, for the record of the African continent in real terms is one badly blemished by a staggering number of such children.

The problem of children associated with armed forces has been bedevilled by two conflicting objectives: dealing with a 'hard' security concern and converting it into a language and vocabulary that ordinary people understand, with the attendant transitional justice concerns; and at the same time preserving societal cohesion at the community level, as the return of such children may not be acceptable to communities that have suffered atrocities committed by them.

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