Child soldiers who fought during Liberia's 14-year civil war may be being recruited to fight again as mercenaries in neighbouring Guinea, a senior U.N. official said. The United Nations has been investigating reports that guns and former fighters, unemployed since the end of the war a year ago, are crossing into Guinea where the failing health of veteran President Lansana Conte has raised fears of instability. The U.N. deputy special representative to Liberia, Souren Seraydarian, said he knew of two former child soldiers now in care centres who had been offered money to go and fight in a neighbouring country but had turned it down. "We were told that they were offered $75 to participate in training and to go into one of the neighbouring countries," Seraydarian said late on Friday. "Since Liberia has ratified the convention on the protection of child labour, there is an obligation on the part of the judiciary to prosecute those behind this type of activity." The head of Liberia's national human rights commission said last month that 500 youths under the age of 17 had been recruited to go to Guinea. U.N. officials say in private there is little they can do to stop the traffic of guns and men. --more 2347 Local Time 2047 GMT
