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| - Children in Mali have suffered a sharp increase in serious violations such as being recruited as soldiers, the United Nations said in a report released on Thursday. Between July 2017 and March 2020, 1,764 serious violations were committed against 1,092 children, some of whom were victims of multiple violations, according to the report on the impact of Mali's conflict on children. "This represents a sharp increase compared with the previous report, which covered a longer period," it said. "All categories of violations increased throughout the reporting period, except for rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is however estimated to be highly underreported." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "extremely concerned" about the violations, which also include killing and maiming of children, and attacks on schools and hospitals. "I am concerned by the new cases of recruitment and use of children by the Malian armed forces," he added. "I encourage the institutionalization of child protection training for the Malian Defence and Security Forces." He also noted verified attacks on schools and hospitals more than tripled since the previous report. Mali has been struggling to contain a jihadist insurgency which first emerged in 2012. Young army officers toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August after weeks of anti-government protests sparked by his government's failure to tackle the insurgency and perceived corruption. prh/bgs/dw
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