Washington is releasing some $26 million to Yemen in military aid and boosting funds to armies in five other nations, waiving sanctions imposed for recruiting child soldiers, a US official said Thursday. President Barack Obama on Tuesday fully waived sanctions and lifted bans on international military, education and training assistance to Yemen, Rwanda and Somalia applied under the Child Soldier Prevention Act, said deputy assistant secretary Michael Kozak.
Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan were also given partial waivers for specific military purposes, while sanctions were maintained on Myanmar, Sudan and Syria, found guilty of the widespread recruitment of children into their armies. Waivers did not mean the United States was turning a blind eye to the use of child soldiers or providing an "unlimited flow of security assistance," Kozak said.
"The waiver doesn't mean that they are not guilty of recruiting child soldiers. To the contrary, it means they are, and therefore the sanction in law would apply but for the waiver," Kozak said, adding the idea was a bit like "a doctor treating a patient."
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