UNICEF and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan's main rebel group, will sign an agreement that allows UNICEF access to JEM bases and locations to ensure that the group is not using child soldiers. JEM representatives maintain that the group has never used child soldiers, but the UN has in the past accused JEM, among other groups, of using such soldiers.The Sudanese government has asserted that the deal is illegal. However, UNICEF maintains that the agreement is for the good of Sudanese children, 6000 of whom are estimated to exist in the Darfur region alone.
By Mohammed Adow
July 19, 2010
