Children by the thousands forced to act as soldiers, victimized by war in 2020

More than 8,500 children were used as soldiers last year in various conflicts across the world and nearly 2,700 others were killed, the United Nations said on Monday.

UN chief Antonio Guterres’s annual report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict covers the killing, maiming and sexual abuse of children, abduction or recruitment, denial of aid access and targeting of schools and hospitals.

The report confirmed that violations were committed against 19,379 children in 21 conflicts in 2020, with the greatest number of violations committed in Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.

It found that 8,521 children were