UN Concerned Over Use of Children as Human Shields by Maoists

UNITED NATIONS: The UN has expressed concern over the killing and maiming of children who continue to be recruited and used as human shields by Maoists in India and over the threat of sexual violence against girls within Naxalite ranks.

The Annual Report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, released here yesterday, said the recruitment and use of children, as young as?six-years-old, by Naxalites, continued in 2013.

While no disaggregated data on the number of children associated with armed groups in India was available to the UN, it said independent?estimates indicate at least 2,500 children are associated with armed groups in Naxal-affected areas. It cited data of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs?and said boys and girls aged six to 12 years were recruited into specific children?s units, known as 'Bal Dasta' and 'Bal Sangham', in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha States.

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