Takeaways from AP story on child soldiers trained by Colombi…

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A new report by The Associated Press shows that child soldiers fighting for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against Sudan’s army have been trained by Colombian mercenaries.

The report is based on rare, firsthand accounts from former child soldiers held at a rehabilitation center run by the military-backed government in the capital, Khartoum. Tens of thousands of children as young as 8 have been conscripted into the ongoing conflict by all sides and many are still on the front lines.

One boy described how he was shackled to an anti-aircraft gun and told to fire at army warplanes buzzing overhead or his captors would kill him. He was 15 at the time. Another said he was forced to fire artillery at targets identified by drones — including civilians — and beaten for any disobedience.

Tens of thousands of veterans of Colombia’s internal conflicts have hired themselves out in foreign wars despite a recent law outlawing it. The children’s accounts indicate the mercenaries are widely deployed in Sudan.

The Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF, have been accused of atrocities. Rights groups say a state-linked firm in the United Arab Emirates has recruited Colombians to fight with the RSF. Human rights groups and Sudan’s military accuse the UAE of arming the RSF, and a U.N. panel said it had tracked weapons shipments to the group originating in the UAE, a Gulf federation that includes Dubai.

In a statement to the AP after this story was published, the UAE denied providing arms or military support to any warring party in Sudan. It also denied facilitating the movement of mercenaries or foreign fighters into Sudan or having links to mercenaries.

The UAE said its investigation of the firm in question found no links to mercenary activity in Sudan. The UAE condemned atrocities on all sides and said it supported efforts to end the conflict.

Here are the main takeaways:

Searing accounts of boys sent to the front lines

At the rehabilitation center, one boy was missing a hand. Another had scars on his back from where he said he was tortured, and a third had a bone jutting out of his side.

The boy who was tied to the anti-aircraft gun said RSF fighters detained him and sent him to the front lines without him having ever held a gun. He was held with dozens of other children, their hands bound at all times, he said.

He said foreigners, described as Colombians by RSF fighters at his base, trained the children and instructed the paramilitaries to strap them to the weapons. He showed scars on his head that he said were left by shrapnel.

A boy who had been held at another camp said he was locked up and only brought out for artillery strikes. When he refused to fire, his captors would beat him, sometimes with an electric baton. In one case, he said, a Colombian beat him unconscious. An 18-year-old friend was shot dead when he tried to escape, he said.

A member of the military media office accompanied the AP during the visit to the rehabilitation center but did not choose who was interviewed. The AP retains full editorial control of its content.