Children increasingly used as weapons of war: UNICEF
United Nations: Children caught in war zones are increasingly being used as weapons of war -- recruited to fight, forced to act as suicide bombers, and used as human shields, Unicef has warned.
In a statement late Wedensday summarising 2017 as a brutal year for children caught in conflict, Unicef said parties to conflicts were blatantly disregarding international humanitarian law and children were routinely coming under attack, reports the Guardian.
Rape, forced marriage, abduction and enslavement had become standard tactics in conflicts across Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as in Nigeria, South Sudan and Myanmar.
Some children, abducted by extremist groups, are abused again by security forces when they are released. Others are indirectly harmed by fighting, through malnutrition and disease, as access to food, water and sanitation are denied or restricted.
Some 27 million children in conflict zones have been forced out of school.
"Children are being targeted and exposed to attacks and brutal violence in their homes, schools and playgrounds," said Manuel Fontaine, Unicef's director of emergency programmes.
"As these attacks continue year after year, we cannot become numb. Such brutality cannot be the new normal."
In Iraq and Syria children have reportedly been used as human shields, trapped under siege and targeted by snipers, while in Afghanistan nearly 700 children were killed in fighting in the first nine months of the year, the Guardian quoted the Unicef statement as saying.
Rohingya children in Myanmar were subject to systematic violence and driven from their homes. More than half of the 650,000 Rohingya forced over the border into Bangladesh are under 18.
The Unicef statement has called on all parties in conflicts to respect international humanitarian law and immediately end violations against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. The agency also called on states with influence over non-state parties to conflict to use their influence to protect children.
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Kerala HC gives interim protection from arrest to Rahul Mamkootathil in rape case
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court on Saturday gave interim protection from arrest to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in a case of rape and forced abortion against him.
Justice K Babu said that it will hear Mamkootathil's anticipatory bail plea on December 15 and till then he should not be arrested.
"Petitioner shall not be arrested during the pendency. Post on December 15, 2025," the court said.
Advocate S Rajeev, appearing for the expelled Congress MLA confirmed the order.
However, Mamkootathil is accused in a second case of sexual assault.
A sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had on Thursday rejected his plea for anticipatory bail in the first case of rape and forced abortion registered against him last week.
A second rape case was lodged against him on Wednesday based on the complaint of a second woman, a resident of Bengaluru.
Mamkootathil, who has been absconding since the registration of the first rape case against him, has claimed in his plea in the High Court that he was innocent and his custodial interrogation was not required.
He has also contended that the relationship between him and the first complainant was consensual and when it became strained, a complaint was lodged against him.
The MLA has further claimed that the woman was married, but separated from her husband, and in order to "save her own skin" she disowned their relationship.
In his plea, Mamkootathil has said that he was prepared to explain each and every circumstance of the offences alleged against him and will also cooperate with the probe if he would get an opportunity to appear before the investigating officer without any fear of arrest.
He has also alleged that there is an attempt by the investigation agency to "mislead the facts" and he has got ample documents to establish the same.
