Over 3 000 Children Killed or Maimed in Afghanistan last year: UN
As a whole, the United Nations has verified more than 21,000 violations committed against children in 2017, reporting that more than 10,000 children killed or maimed in armed conflict last year.
As a whole, the United Nations has verified more than 21,000 violations committed against children in 2017, reporting that more than 10,000 children killed or maimed in armed conflict last year.
The UN’s annual report on conflict-related violence affecting children throughout Afghanistan, indicate that more than 3 000 verified cases of children killed and maimed in 2017.
Children were recruited and used for combat, as bodyguards, at checkpoints, to assist in intelligence gathering and to plant improvised explosive devices.
Although the number of verified cases represents a 10 percent decrease in verified cases compared to 2016, casualty rates remain very high, the report said.
The UN verified 3,179 child casualties (861 killed and 2,318 injured), including 251 girls, accounting for 30 per cent of all civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
According to the report, 723 child casualties attribute to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, 28 to pro-government militias and 21 to both pro-government militias and Afghan National Defence and Security Forces; while Armed groups perpetrated 1,384 child casualties, including 1,105 casualties attributed to the Taliban, 94 to ISIL-KP, 9 to joint operations of ISIL-KP and the Taliban and 176 to undetermined armed groups.
Child casualties resulting from complex and suicide attacks increased by 34 per cent, the report added.
The UN also recorded a total of 58 incidents of attacks on hospitals and protected personnel, which indicate a 50 percent reduction compared to 2016.
The Secretary-General reiterates that the best way to address this horrific situation is to promote peaceful solutions to conflicts.
