During Côte d'Ivoire's civil war of 2002–2004, "children were recruited, often forcibly, by both sides", and were also abducted by armed groups fighting the civil war in Liberia between 1999 and 2003. The "Patriotic Youth –" armed groups that included children in large numbers – received the active support of the government. Thousands of children saw membership of an armed group on either side of the war as a way to earn a living, although they were often unpaid, having to acquire money through extortion or begging. They were provided with automatic weapons, and girls were frequently abducted as sex slaves.