During the last three months of 2023, serious violations committed against children in the central Sahel countries – Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso – increased by more than 70% compared to the previous three months. This is the observation made on Tuesday May 28 by Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, which asks all stakeholders to become more involved in protecting populations.
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“ Recruitment ” And ” use » of child soldiers, « murders ” Or ” mutilation »: for these categories of violenceUnicef reports an increase “ by more than 130% between October and December ” last, ” compared to the previous three months “.
By including other categories, Unicef deplores an overall increase of 70%. This includes sexual violence, kidnappings and even attacks against schools, for which the data showed “ more stable “. “ These are only verified incidents », Specifies a spokesperson for the UNICEF regional office in Dakar. He recalls that victims do not systematically wish to testify, particularly in cases of sexual violence.
The UN organization calls for the protection of civilian populations.
The share of violence attributed to jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, of that attributed to national armies and their auxiliaries, -Wagner group in Mali or Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) in Burkina, for example- is not specified.
Questioned on this point, Unicef indicates that details on the actors and the figures of the violence recorded will be published in the annual United Nations report on “ the fate of children in times of armed conflict “. The latter is expected at the end of June.
Unicef concludes by citing data from Acled: according to this NGO which collects data on conflict zones, nearly 1,400 people were killed in Mali, Niger and Burkina during the first three months of this year. That’s an increase of 66% compared to the same period last year.
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