Violence against kids in CAR must end: UNICEF
Iran Press TV
Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:11PM GMT
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for an end to violence against children in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa, said on Friday that children have fallen prey to the ongoing conflict in the country.
'There is no future for a country where adults can viciously target innocent children with impunity,' said Fontaine.
The UN organization said more than 130 children have been killed and mutilated in the past two months, some of them in horrific ways.
In a statement the UN organization said their officials in the region 'are horrified by the cruelty and impunity with which children are being killed and mutilated,' as well as 'increasingly targeted because of their religion, or because of their community."
According to UNICEF, the ongoing violence has prevented many of the injured children to seek medical care at hospitals.
The statements came a day after Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that he had witnessed 'a humanitarian catastrophe of unspeakable proportions' during his recent visit to the African country.
The high commissioner also stated that the new government in Bangui is not fully capable of protecting its citizens against the ongoing 'massive ethno-religious cleansing.'
On February 12, CAR's new interim President Catherine Samba-Panza declared war against the Christian militia behind the "ethnic cleansing" campaign against Muslim citizens in the country.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the Central African Republic since last December, when Christian militia launched coordinated attacks against the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government in March 2013.
CAH/AB/SS
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