Democracy
From Iraq to Nepal, Child Militants Swell the Ranks
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Thousands of Iraqi children earn $3 to $7 a day making bombs, cleaning guns and transporting weapons for Shiite and Sunni militias in Baghdad. The chlorine bombs burn the children and sometimes detonate, but insurgents say they can’t be blamed for something that parents have consented to. Iraqi parents blame a lack of work, or say their children are threatened if they don’t follow orders. One father justified sending his sons to make bombs by saying it puts food on the table and helps fight the Americans. In India, militias are recruiting hundreds of child soldiers to fight rebels along the India-Myanmar border.