Colombia's FARC rebel group has handed over eight child soldiers to an international humanitarian body as part of a peace deal reached with the government last month. Further demobilizations are expected.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Abd
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The child soldiers were the first to be demobilized since last month's historic peace deal between Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government to end a half century of fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the minors underwent a health check and were transferred to the supervision of UNICEF, the UN children's fund.
"ICRC medical personnel who are part of the humanitarian mission verified that the minors were healthy enough to be transferred," the Red Cross said.
The FARC has used child soldiers in its ranks for decades. According to Colombia's top prosecutor, between 1975 and 2014 some 12,000 minors are estimated to have joined the group.
Government officials have put the current number of child soldiers in the rebel group at nearly 200.
Earlier this year, the FARC said it would increase the minimum age for recruits from 15 to 17. Then in May it agreed to let all minors under 18 leave its camps. However, that plan was delayed due to the ongoing peace talks at the time and concerns that child soldiers could reveal intelligence.
More minors are expected to be handed over in the coming weeks ahead of full demobilization as part of the peace plan reached after nearly four years of talks in Cuba.
Both sides of the conflict are expected to sign the deal later this month before a referendum on October 2. Two polls this week indicated strong support for the peace deal.
The peace deal envisions the FARC demobilizing and becoming a legal political party. It also addresses land reform, drug trafficking and a transitional justice system for crimes committed during the conflict.
The 52-year conflict has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions.
Latin America's longest armed conflict comes to an end
The Colombian government has reached a historic truce with FARC, ending over half a century of violence with the leftist group. Latin America's longest conflict claimed at least 220,000 lives.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
How the insurgency started
In 1948, the assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan sparked political chaos in Colombia known as "the violence." Tens of thousands died and peasant groups joined with communists to arm themselves. Later in 1964, a military attack on the insurgency's main encampment led to the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
What the rebels wanted
FARC's political ideology has never been well defined. Initially, it sought to weaken the oligarchy's grip on power. The rebels also wanted land reforms in a country where more than 5 million people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias. However, the group lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping and illegal gold mining for funds.
Image: Reuters
How the US got involved
To help the Colombian security forces fight against the insurgency and to counter drug-trafficking, the US began sending billions of dollars under Plan Colombia. The US State Department classifies the group as a terrorist organization and its leaders face US indictments.
Image: Reuters/J. Vizcaino
The human cost of the conflict
Latin America's longest-running armed conflict is responsible for the death an estimated 220,000 people, while millions of Colombians have been displaced within their country. According to Bogota’s estimates, there are 7.6 million direct and indirect victims of the conflict. The country has more landmine victims than any country except for Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Escobar Mora
Peace accord after decades of failed attempts
Peace talks between FARC and the government collapsed in the mid 1980s after at least 3,000 allies of FARC's political wing Patriotic Union Party were killed at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries. Efforts fell short again in 2002 after the rebels hijacked an airliner to kidnap a senator. The latest round of talks started in 2012 in Havana and culminated on August 24, 2016 with a deal.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Abramovich
50 years of conflict
"We have reached a final, integral and definitive agreement" to end the conflict and build a stable, lasting peace, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a joint statement. In June, the negotiators had already announced a cease-fire agreement and a blueprint for how the estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters will demobilize.
