A statement from the United Nations condemns the abduction of nine girls and 51 boys between 10 and 18 years old at Caxito as a gross violation of their freedom and rights. An Angolan teacher was kidnaped along with the children. Reuters news agency says the children were taken from an orphanage for children who had lost their parents in Angola's long civil war.
Rebels commonly use children to cook, clean and carry ammunition.
Older boys are sometimes forced to fight and girls are subjected to sexual abuse. The United Nations notes that several children were killed after similar abductions last year.