labor force. For example, children as young as 11 or 12 years of age worked in a number of factories outside the capital that produced edible oils. Child labor was widespread in the informal economy, and children traditionally worked on the family farm from a young age. Sudan did not adhere to ILO Convention no. 182, the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The Child Act of 2010, among other laws, governed hours and working conditions of young people, but the law was not effectively enforced, particularly in the informal sector, where enforcement was especially difficult. Forced labor The 1998 constitution prohibited forced and bonded labor, although it did not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons. Nevertheless, there were credible reports that slavery persisted, particularly affecting women and children, and that the seizure and sale of women as domestic servants continued. All sides in the Sudanese conflict also conscripted men and boys forcibly into their fighting forces. In May 1998, the government formed the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children, which resulted in the identification and release of several hundred abductees, but the government did not police the laws on forced and bonded labor effectively. In November 2001, the government announced the establishment of special civilian tribunals in the border regions separating the South and the North of the country to prosecute persons involved in the abduction, transport, holding, and selling or exchanging of women and children from war zones. Even so, as late as 2010, the Committee surmised that possibly 10,000 or more abductees from groups such as the Misiriyyah and Rizayqat as well as South Sudanese were engaged in some form of forced labor in the border regions. Infrastructure Transport Sudan has 4,725 kilometers of narrow-gauge, single-track railroads that serve the northern and central portions of the country. The main line runs from Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border to Khartoum and southwest to Al Ubayyid via Sannar and Kusti, with extensions to Nyala in Southern Darfur and Wau in Bahr al Ghazal. Other lines connect Atbarah and Sannar with Port Sudan, and Sannar with Ad Damazin. A 1,400-kilometer line serves the al Gezira cotton-growing region. A modest effort to upgrade rail transport is currently underway to reverse decades of neglect and declining efficiency. Service on some lines may be interrupted during the rainy season. Energy The chief sources of energy in 2010 were wood