The death toll among child soldiers can be particularly high. The conflict in Afghanistan has been one of the world’s deadliest for children - estimates are that approximately 33,000 children were killed or maimed over the past 20 years. Armed groups often use children to carry out such attacks because they are easier to manipulate and may be less likely to arouse suspicion than adults. Since 2014, suicide attacks by Taliban forces have caused approximately 6,000 civilian casualties. Suicide attacks in Afghanistan were rare until 2005, but then were rapidly adopted as a war tactic by the Taliban and other insurgent groups. One 15-year-old boy told United Nations investigators that a Taliban commander ordered him to detonate explosives against Afghan police, promising him that if he carried out the mission, he would go to paradise and receive “huge rewards.” When the boy resisted, the commander threatened to kill the boy and his parents. The Taliban used children to carry out suicide and other dangerous attacks, often recruiting them through deception, with promises of money or other incentives, and threats. Other parties to the conflict, including the U.S.-backed Afghan government and pro-government forces, reportedly also recruited and used children. Children between 13 and 17 were often used to fight. Boys as young as 6 were indoctrinated, and by age 13, often had learned to use firearms. Taliban commanders long have relied on madrasas, or Islamic religious schools, to train and provide children as soldiers. The Taliban’s current efforts to establish a government in Afghanistan provide an opportunity for the international community to push for an end to child recruitment, and for the release of children from Taliban forces. Thousands of children may remain in their ranks today. They have used children as fighters, to plant and detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and as suicide bombers.
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