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' 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 verified that violations had been committed against 19,379 children in 21 conflicts. Most violations in 2020 were committed in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.