Contribution to Book
Understanding Organizational Efforts Regarding Child Soldiers in Somalia
Comparative Criminology Across Western and African Perspectives
(2022)
Abstract
A child soldier is an individual under 18 years of age who accompanies or is a part of an armed force or group in any capacity, including cooks, porters, messengers, or girls recruited for sexual purposes and forced into marriage. In the case of Somalia, child soldiers have been embroiled in the armed conflict since the fall of Siad Barre's government in the early 1990s. When the government collapsed, armed groups recruited, captured, and forced children to fight opposing groups. Abducted children were forced to spy, scout and recruit, gather explosives, and at times participate in suicide missions. The fear of recruitment and abduction of Somali children by either armed groups, terrorist organizations, or government forces endures today. This chapter will primarily focus on the exploitation of child soldiers by Al-Shabaab and examine the possible solutions that various organizations and programs can implement to restrict the recruitment of child soldiers in Somalia.
Keywords
- child soldiers,
- Somalia
Disciplines
Publication Date
2022
Citation Information
Praveenrao Bolli and Nabil Ouassini. "Understanding Organizational Efforts Regarding Child Soldiers in Somalia" Comparative Criminology Across Western and African Perspectives (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/nabil-ouassini/12/