An estimated 20,000 children took part in hostilities during the 1990s , including the 1994 Rwanda genocide when many children were involved in committing atrocities . 5,000 children were in the national army , while others , including many street children , joined or were made to join armed groups . After the genocide , 4,500 children were detained on suspicion of participating in atrocities , and were incarcerated for several years without charge or trial ; some were sent to the Gitagata Re-Education Centre for males below 14 years of age . In the late 1990s , children were widely recruited again , often by force , to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC )
Rwanda genocide
Rwandan genocide
History of children in the military