A record number of children live in conflict zones or have been forced to leave their homes because of military conflicts, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said, quoted by DPA.
It is estimated that about 473 million children live in conflict zones, according to a UNICEF report published today.
If in the 1990s about 10% of the world's children lived in such zones, now this is true for 19% of them. Children are killed or injured, forced to stop going to school and deprived of vital vaccinations and food.
"A child who grows up in a conflict zone is much more likely to stop going to school, become malnourished, or be forced to leave their home. This must not become the new normal," UNICEF said in a statement.
According to UNICEF, 47.2 million children were displaced or victims of violence at the end of last year. Trends this year show an increase in the number of displaced people, due to conflicts in Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, the Middle East and Sudan.