Voice of America
14 Aug 2019, 09:35 GMT+10
DAKAR - The number of children forced to join armed groups in Mali has doubled since last year amid worsening jihadist and ethnic violence, the United Nations said Tuesday.
In the first six months of 2019, the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, recorded 99 cases of children in Mali being recruited or used by armed groups, often as soldiers, spies, cooks or cleaners, compared to 47 in the same period last year.
"This is very much a reflection of the deteriorating security situation, in particular in the center of Mali," UNICEF spokeswoman Eliane Luthi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The West African country has been in conflict since 2012 when Islamists hijacked an ethnic uprising by Tuaregs in the north. More recently the violence has moved to central Mali, where fighting between farmers and herders has surged this year.
The number of children in Mali who were killed or maimed in conflict almost quadrupled to 229 in the first half of 2019, up from 59 in the same period last year, UNICEF said.
Fulani herders and Dogon farmers have long competed for land and resources in Mali, but jihadist groups have exploited their ethnic rivalry to boost recruitment and expand their reach.
In March, suspected Dogon militiamen killed more than 150 Fulani in central Mali, one of the worst acts of bloodshed in the country's recent history.
The insecurity has forced over 900 schools to close, which is another factor driving recruitment of children, said Luthi.
"We know very well that when children are out of school they are exposed to all sorts of other violations," she said.
The figures reflect a wider trend of children being more caught up in conflicts globally, said Keyan Salarkia, an expert on conflict with British charity Save the Children.
"The rules and the laws of conflict aren't being upheld," he said.
The number of violations against children in war have tripled globally since 2010, according to Save the Children.
Get a daily dose of Bristol Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Bristol Star.
More InformationLast Easter an antisemitism crisis erupted in the UK setting the Jewish Community against the Labour Party, or more precisely ...
On December 30, 2015, in a court in Florida, Alan Dershowitz, was accused of having had sex on seven occasions ...
LONDON - Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party will win an overwhelming victory in Britain's election with a majority of ...
London - Caretaker Arsenal manager Freddie Ljungberg believes the club must make a permanent appointment quickly to halt their slide ...
London - Kevin De Bruyne scored twice and teed up Raheem Sterling for Manchester City's other goal as Arsenal crumbled ...
Chinese state television pulled the scheduled live broadcast of a football (soccer) game following one of the players' comments online ...
WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA - Rhino poaching in Namibia dropped to 41 individuals killed in all of 2019 so far, compared with ...
Donald Trump is no Richard Nixon.Nixon was a bully, a cynic and a crook who did all kinds of damage ...
LOS ANGELES, California - Michael Henschel offered to help financially struggling individuals save their homes.Instead, he stole their American dream.Henschel, ...
Last Easter an antisemitism crisis erupted in the UK setting the Jewish Community against the Labour Party, or more precisely ...
On December 30, 2015, in a court in Florida, Alan Dershowitz, was accused of having had sex on seven occasions ...
WASHINGTON, DC - In a big development, the United States' Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear appeals from President ...