(UN News) – Senior United Nations officials today expressed deep concern about the humanitarian situation of the estimated one million people displaced so far this year in Iraq, particularly children, who are reportedly now being recruited and used by militias on all sides. “We have received worrisome information that children are taking part in hostilities,” said the Special Representative of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui. Her office today confirmed that incidents of underage boys being armed, manning checkpoints, and in some cases used as suicide bombers, have been documented. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and affiliated organizations are listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict for recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming of children, and attacks on schools and hospitals in Iraq.
