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Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 15:49:20 -0000
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Subject: SIERRA LEONE: Children bear brunt of war [2001110]
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SIERRA LEONE: Children bear brunt of war

ABIDJAN, 10 November (IRIN) - Children have borne the brunt of the war in
Sierra Leone, with thousands having been abducted, abused or forced to join
armed groups and commit atrocities.

''Many children have suffered severe physical and psychological damage as a
result of the war,'' the UK-based Save the Children Fund (SCF) said in its
emergency update dated 7 November. ''They have been mutilated, raped or
subjected to other violent acts. They have witnessed the death or suffering
of family members and some have committed acts of violence themselves.'' 

Thousands of children have been killed and between 15,000 and 20,000 have
fought as soldiers, many after being abducted. Children accounted for 80
percent of soldiers in some rebel groups, SCF said.

Many families are reluctant to take back children who have been badly
affected by the war, or who have been soldiers. ''Families may be
stigmatised or rejected by their community, particularly if they take back
children known to have committed atrocities. Children were forced to commit
atrocities to alienate them from their communities,'' the aid agency said. 

Girls who were raped by their captors said they and their babies were often
ostracised, forcing many into prostitution, SCF said.

Health care is another obstacle. The child mortality rate in Sierra Leone is
312 for every 1,000 births, whereas the global average is 67 per 1,000. One
in every three Sierra Leonean children dies before its fifth birthday.

Save the Children in Sierra Leone focuses mainly on separated and
ex-combatant children. With the UN Children's Fund, it is supporting the
ministry of social welfare to strengthen its national family tracing system
and linking a network of voluntary tracing agencies to a central database to
create a national standardised and coordinated family tracing system. 

[ENDS]

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