Surprising Facts About Child Soldiers

The problem of children used as soldiers has been gaining visibility since, among other things, former child soldier Ishmael Beah published his memoir. But the image of the child soldier as a young African boy with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder isn’t as descriptive of the problem as you might think. Many child soldiers are girls; many of them never pick up a gun; and they are most often deployed in conflicts outside Africa. Scott Gates and Simon Reich have more. [%comments]