Should Children Be Allowed In War

My mom and dad were watching the news one afternoon. I was around 6 or 7 at the time, but I remember hearing about children fighting in wars. Because I was so young, I didn’t realise what that meant; I barely even knew how wars were fought. But at that age, I did know that it’s typically adults fighting in wars. The practices in wars that are being fought in African countries need to change, because children are being forced to fight and mass killings are taking place. Some may say that these practices are alright to be used to win a war, but there is evidence that goes against this.
The practices in wars that are being fought in African countries need to change, because children are being forced to fight in the wars. In the article “Armed and Underage” by The New York Times, it says, “It is well-known that Somalia's radical Islamist insurgents are

This supports the claim that the practices in wars that are being fought in African countries need to change because the children that are being forced to fight are consequently not experiencing very much of a childhood. This is not just happening in one area, but in multiple African nations and other areas as well. Furthermore, in “Armed and Underage”, The New York Times writes, “Girls are often pressed into duty as cooks or messengers. Many are subjected to sexual abuse, including rape.” Girls are forced to help war efforts as well as boys, and are commonly sexually abused. This supports the claim that the practices in wars that are being fought in African countries need to change because both young girls and boys are being forced to fight or help in these wars across Africa, and the conditions some of them are being put through are illegal. Moreover, from “Armed and Underage”, The New York Times states, “In Africa, the problem [of child soldiers] is especially severe...Child soldiers are also being used in conflicts in Sudan (both southern Sudan and in Darfur), Chad, the Central African Republic, and Somalia,