The forced recruitment of children is a common tactic amongst rebel groups, and the FARC prove they are not exempt from the practice. This week, there have been accusations levelled at FARC by UNICEF that they have stepped up child recruitment, especially along the border areas with Venezuela and Ecuador.
But an even more stinging accusation has come from former hostage Luis Eladio Perez, who claimed that FARC uses the young girls it recruits as sex slaves. Perez spent almost seven years in captivity and observed how young girls perform sexual favours as a way to earn small luxuries.
