By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
A total of 93,236 children have been killed or maimed in conflicts in the last 10 years, a report issued by Save the Children International (SCI) has revealed.
That means 25 children, the equivalent of a classroom full of pupils, have been killed or injured on average every day.
A statement issued by Ms. Inger Ashing, the CEO of Save the Children International, said many were victims of airstrikes, shelling, landmines and other explosive weapons used in populated areas where families have been ripped apart and tens of thousands of children left dead or scarred for life.
Last year alone, the report said more than a third of the verified child casualties were caused by explosive weapons – with the number dramatically higher in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The figures are disclosed today in a Save the Children report, Killed and Maimed: A Generation Of Violations Against Children In Conflict.
The report also reveals that in 2019 some 426 million children lived in a conflict-affected area – a slight increase on the year before. Around 160 million children lived in a high-intensity conflict zone[iv], also an increase compared to 2018.
The impact of explosive weapons on children is complex, Save the Children said, robbing families of their hopes and their ability to access vital services, and often profoundly altering the direction of a child’s life.
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