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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Man launches attack with iron rod inside Golden Temple in Amritsar, injures 5
Amritsar, Mar 14 (PTI): A man wielding an iron rod went on an indiscriminate rampage on Friday here at Golden Temple, injuring two 'sewadars' and three devotees, police said.
The man was seen moving in the Guru Ramdas Niwas, also called Guru Ramdas Sarai, of the Golden Temple.
According to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Secretary Partap Singh, the man turned violent when asked about his antecedents and attacked the SGPC employees and the others.
Police said the man hailed from Haryana and was handed over to them by the SGPC after the incident.
The reason behind the attack is under investigation.
The three injured devotees had come to the temple from Mohali, Bathinda and Patiala, while the other two were 'sewadars' of Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Partap Singh said.
One 'sewadar' and a devotee from Bathinda suffered severe head injuries.
The injured were rushed to Sri Guru Ramdas Hospital at Vallah in a critical condition.
Partap Singh said the attacker and an accomplice of his were apprehended and handed over to the police.
In his appeal to the government and law enforcement agencies, the SGPC Secretary called for no leniency in taking action against the perpetrators.
