{"id":45178,"date":"2026-06-05T17:40:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=45178"},"modified":"2026-06-05T17:40:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:40:26","slug":"six-child-soldiers-reunite-with-families-in-warrap-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/six-child-soldiers-reunite-with-families-in-warrap-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Six child soldiers reunite with families in Warrap state"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Hou Akot Hou<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Six children formerly associated with armed forces have been reunited with their families in Warrap State following a demobilisation process supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).<\/p>\n

The six minors are among 11 children who were identified and removed from military service after reportedly joining the army from Juba.<\/p>\n

The remaining children, who originate from Western Equatoria State, have continued their journey home to be reunited with their families.<\/p>\n

According to local authorities, county officials received the six children earlier this week as part of ongoing efforts to protect children’s rights and facilitate their reintegration into civilian life.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the media, Joseph Ngong Ngong, executive director in the Office of the Twic County Commissioner, said the children arrived from Unity State, where they are believed to have undergone military training.<\/p>\n

He noted that investigations are continuing to establish the circumstances under which they entered military service.<\/p>\n

“We received six children on Monday. The County Commissioner and the Director of Gender and Social Welfare welcomed them back home and are working to ensure their successful reintegration into their communities,” Ngong said.<\/p>\n

According to Ngong, the children reportedly approached Division 11 of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) last year and expressed interest in joining the military.<\/p>\n

“These boys reportedly formed a group and presented themselves to Division 11, requesting to join the army. UNICEF and other child protection actors later traced them in military barracks and training centers and facilitated their demobilisation after it was established that they were underage,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Of the six children received in Warrap State, one is from Gogrial East County, while the others are from Turalei and Pan-Nyok payams in Twic County. The remaining five children are from Western Equatoria State.<\/p>\n

The demobilisation and family reunification exercise forms part of South Sudan’s commitments to end grave violations against children, including the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. The initiative is also aimed at safeguarding children’s rights to education, health care, protection, and family life.<\/p>\n

Child protection advocates say poverty, lack of access to basic services, and insecurity continue to expose some children to recruitment risks. Authorities and humanitarian agencies are working to strengthen community awareness and provide support services to prevent children from entering armed groups or military institutions.<\/p>\n

UNICEF and its partners have continued to support the identification, release, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children associated with armed forces and armed groups across South Sudan.<\/p>\n

Local officials have urged communities to support the returning children and help them resume normal lives through education and family-based care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Hou Akot Hou Six children formerly associated with armed forces have been reunited with their families in Warrap State following a demobilisation process supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The six minors are among 11 children who were identified and removed from military service after reportedly joining[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45179,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45178\/revisions\/45179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}