Child soldiers assuming dangerous proportions in Manipur

From correspondents in Manipur, India, 12:31 PM IST Indian authorities in the restive northeastern Manipur state have warned parents against letting their children venture out alone after some 20 teenagers were recruited as child soldiers by separatist groups, officials Sunday said. 'Instructions have been given to step up vigil and any children found without being accompanied by their guardians would be detained. These steps were being taken to thwart movement of militants with kidnapped children,' Manipur police chief Y. Joy Kumar said. In the past 45 days, at least 20 children in the age group of 10 to 16 went missing from various parts of the state although their parents did not lodge any formal police complaints. 'Initially, we thought some human trafficking rackets or syndicates operating for bonded labour were... [read full story]