August 28, 2015•Update: August 30, 2015
By Fatih Erel
GENEVA
Some 163 children have been released by an armed group in the Central African Republic on Friday, the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF said.
About 600 children have been released by armed groups in the Central African Republic since May 2015 following a deal reached by several armed groups to release all children used in their ranks, UNICEF said in a statement.
UNICEF said anti-Balaka militia released the children during a ceremony Friday in the northwestern town of Batangafo.
"Today’s handover, which was facilitated by UNICEF and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), comes three months after 357 children were released following an agreement between the country’s 10 armed groups to release all children from their ranks," UNICEF said.
"This release is a sign that the process of implementing the commitment made by the leaders of these groups, as a part of the peace and reconciliation process, is on track," UNICEF’s representative Mohamed Malick Fall said and added: "We fully expect to see hundreds more children released before the end of this year."
CAR descended into anarchy in 2013, when Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize, a Christian who had come to power in a 2003 coup. The rebels then installed Michel Djotodia, a Muslim, as interim president.
Djotodia stepped down in early 2014 to be replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza -- a Christian -- amid a wave of sectarian violence between members of the two communities.
In May of this year, following months of tit-for-tat violence between the Christian anti-Balaka militia and Seleka Muslim fighters, in which hundreds were killed, both sides, composed of multiple factions, agreed to lay down their arms.
The agreement to release all children related with armed groups in the country was made at a reconciliation forum in Bangui this past May.
According to UNICEF, between 6,000 and 10,000 children have been associated with armed factions in CAR since 2013. This includes children serving as combatants, as well as those working as cooks, messengers and in other roles.
Due to the country’s ongoing crisis, the presidential election in CAR -- originally slated for 2014 -- have been postponed three times. They are currently scheduled to be held in October.
MINUSCA was established by the UN Security Council in April of last year. The chief elements of its mandate include protecting civilians, supporting a political transition process, facilitating delivery of humanitarian aid and promoting human rights.
