President Obama: Don't Stand for the Child Abductions in South Sudan

Recently, at least 89 children were abducted from their school in the Malakal area of South Sudan. These children had only recently come out of hiding in the bush because of intense fighting in the region. Tragically, they were abducted just as they were trying to resume some semblance of a normal life.

According to UNICEF, these young children were most likely taken by the Shilluk Militia, a group that's allied with the government of South Sudan. It is now believed that many of these children, some as young as 12 years old, will become child soldiers on the front lines.

An estimated 12,000 child soldiers were used across South Sudan last year on all sides of the civil war, including by government allies like the group responsible for the recent abductions. The South Sudanese government has received over half a billion dollars in aid from our government.

We should not be sending funding to a government that allies itself with a militia that is abducting children and forcing them to become soldiers. Our aid funding should not be complicit with this gross violation of children's rights. Instead, President Obama needs to take a stand and urge the government of South Sudan to cut ties with groups that send children into combat.

Call on President Obama to put pressure on the government of South Sudan to take action and help end the use of child soldiers.