Colombian tribunal: Guerrillas recruited 18,600 children

A Colombian tribunal that investigates war crimes says the country’s largest guerilla group recruited at least 18,600 children into its ranks between 1996 and 2016, when it made peace with the government

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A Colombian tribunal that investigates war crimes on Tuesday said the country’s largest guerrilla group recruited at least 18,600 children into its ranks between 1996 and 2016, when it made peace with the government. The Special Jurisdiction for Peace said it will call on former leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to testify as it continues to investigate the forced recruitment of children into the now-demobilized guerrilla army. The estimate published by the peace tribunal comes from 31 databases compiled by government investigators, human rights groups and relatives of children who were recruited into the guerrilla group. It surpasses a previous estimate by Colombia’s Attorney General which said in 2016 that the FARC had forcibly recruited 11,500 children into its ranks. The issue of forced recruitment has been a controversial topic in Colombia, where wounds from the four-decade long conflict between the FARC and the Colombian government are still fresh.