Photo Gallery War Games for Children
Two young boys play with machine guns at the Karfreit barracks in July 2009. This photo and others were published online by left-wing activist group Rabatz. Their authenticity could not be verified.
Here other boys are show playing with the guns at the public Bundeswehr event at the Bavarian military facility.
The latest photos emerge at an inopportune moment. On Sunday news broke revealed that young people played with weapons at a public military event late last month in Bad Reichenhall, also in Bavaria. There mountain rangers at the General Konrad barracks there allegedly helped boys and girls take aim at a model city with anti-tank weapons -- photos were also provided by the Rabatz group.
But even more explosive than the violation of military rules banning those under 18 from access to weapons on base, was the fact that the model town had been named "Little Mitrovica" -- in reference to a the city of Mitrovica in Kosovo. During the Second World War German soldiers, including those from Bad Reichenhall, were stationed there. And in 1999 it was also the site of heavy fighting during the Kosovo War. Here a soldier at the General Konrad barracks with children.
"Little Mitrovica." Prosecutors in Bavaria have since launched an investigation into the Bad Reichenhall incident. Bundeswehr officials also announced their own investigation into whether military regulations may have been breached.
