Editing Children in the military (section)

=== Military factors ===
Some leaders of armed groups have claimed that children, despite their underdevelopment, bring their own qualities as combatants to a fighting unit, often being remarkably fearless, agile and hardy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beber |first1=Bernd |last2=Blattman |first2=Christopher |year=2013 |title=The Logic of Child Soldiering and Coercion |journal=International Organization |language=en |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=65–104 |doi=10.1017/s0020818312000409 |issn=0020-8183 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The global proliferation of light automatic weapons, which children can easily handle, has also made the use of children as direct combatants more viable.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singer |first1=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/childrenatwar00sing |title=Children at War |date=2005 |publisher=Pantheon |isbn=9780375423499 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}</ref>