According to the report, 277 children were killed in the first 9 months of 2019 in Mali alone
New York … News Time
In a report by the UN agency on rights, UNICEF says the ongoing war and violence in South Africa is having a devastating impact on the future of children, Last year, hundreds of children were killed, disabled or forced to be separated from their parents in the South African desert coast. According to the report, 277 children were killed or disabled during the first 9 months of 2019 in Mali alone, which is double the number last year. The insurgency that broke out here since 2012 has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians despite the presence of the International Peacekeeping Force, now this situation is also spreading in the central part of the north of this West African country, as well as ethnic tensions in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
According to the report, children are tortured during cross-fire between rival factions in the South African desert region and such incidents are increasing rapidly, this concern is further compounded by the fact that hundreds of children were abused and forced to be separated from their families. According to the report, nearly 49 million (4.9 million) children need humanitarian assistance. The report states that there is a severe lack of access to basic services like food, water, medicine and education. It is feared that some 7 million 9,000 children under the age of five will suffer from severe malnutrition in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger this year while a total population of about 4 million may suffer from food insecurity. The growing attacks by militants on schools, teachers and students are also alarming.
The report states that the closure of schools in the Central Coast region has increased six times between April 2017 and December 2019. While more than 8 million children between the ages of 6 and 14 are out of school. UNICEF appealed to militant groups to respect humanity, saying insecurity has made relief work more difficult and dangerous. UNICEF has also appealed US $ 208 million in this regard. According to the report, 59 percent of humanitarian programs for children in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been irreparably damaged. “Millions have gone through traumatic experiences, we have to protect these children from violence,” UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa Marie-Pierre Poirie said in a statement. He said that Mali is the only country in the world where innocent children were deeply affected by the war, but said that children in Burkina Faso and Niger were also subjected to murder, sexual exploitation, kidnapping by armed groups. Because of this, about 12 million people were forced to leave by November 2019, a double increase over 2018, with more than half having children.
