Rwanda Peace Academy based in Musanze District will, starting today, host a one-week regional course entitled ‘Protection of Civilians in Peace Operations – Special Focus on Child Soldiers.’According to the director of the academy, Col Jill Rutaremara, the course will bring together military and police officers from the East African Community (EAC), adding that a delegation from Somalia was also expected."The objective of the course is to advance a better understanding of the concept of child soldiering as well as the reasons behind the use of children in armed conflicts,” Rutaremara said."The training is in line with the mission of the academy which is to conduct research, develop and deliver internationally recognised professional training courses and educational programmes in order to equip the military, police and civilian personnel with competences and knowledge required to meet Africa’s present and future complex peace and security challenges”.In addition, he said, the course will raise awareness on the issue and explore options for possible interactions between the military, police and child soldiers.The training was jointly organised by RPA in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as well as the Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative.