Hiiraan Online
Friday, May 13, 2011
In a media release, the United Nations Childern's Fund (UNICEF) said the ‘current Somalia crisis is a children crisis, given the rising catastrophe the conflict is having on young children who can neither escape nor get relief from unabated suffering.
“The world must see that Somalia’s crisis is a children’s crisis,” says UNICEF Representative to Somalia, Rozanne Chorlton, “Grave violations of children’s rights are taking place on a daily basis."
The UN agency says that the recent fierce fighting between Somali government forces and armed groups in and around the capital city, Mogadishu, and other parts of south-central Somalia have had a profound impact on the violation of children’s right.
The agency indicated how a recent battle in Balad Hawa town on the border with Kenya, led to the death of children, although the UN body does not indicate the number of children killed during the said fighting.
“Putting children in the line of fire, killing and maiming them in the context of an armed conflict are among the most serious violations of international law which all parties to the conflict are expected to uphold. The use and recruitment of children under the age of 15 years is a war crime,” said Ms. Chorlton.
Unicef said a number of children fighters captured by TFG and its allied forces in the recent GEDO military onslaught are reportedly being held at an undisclosed location near Balad Hawa, although sketchy details emerged concerning their condition.
According to UNICEF Representative both TFG forces and insurgency groups must be accountable to ensure that children’s basic rights are respected if and when they are deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict in Somalia.
“An impartial humanitarian body should be granted unrestricted access to these children, wherever they are held. The international community must make the necessary resources available to address the needs of these children as a matter of urgency,” said Ms. Chorlton.
The UN says over the last several years, there has been widespread recruitment and use of children by armed groups and forces in Somalia, including direct participation in military combat operations.
The United Nations lists the fragile western-backed Somali government as one of the most constant violators of children’s rights, mostly deploying young children as soldiers, an issue that has tainted the image of the TFG.
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