Syrian children used as 'human shields'
Syrian
troops have tortured children and used them as human shields on tanks
to prevent attacks by opposition forces, a United Nations report said on
Tuesday.
The
UN's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict said
children were being tortured in detention and slaughtered in massacres.
The report said rebel forces were also using children on the front line.
Separately the United States has accused Syria of planning another massacre, while the UN chief condemned the rising violence.
The UN special representative, Radhika Coomaraswamy, told the BBC her team had returned from Syria with "horrific" reports.
She said she had never seen a similar situation where children were not spared - and even targeted - in a conflict.
"Many
former soldiers spoke about shooting into civilian areas, seeing
children, young children being killed and maimed," she said.
"We
also had testimonies and saw children who had been tortured, and who
carried the torture marks with them. We also heard of children being
used - this was recounted to us by some children - of being put on tanks
and being used as human shields so that the tanks would not be fired
upon."
However, she also criticised the opposition Free Syrian Army for endangering children.
"For
the first time we heard of children being recruited by the Free Syrian
Army mainly in medical and service orientated jobs but still on the
front line," she said.
Ms Coomaraswamy said the suffering inflicted on children in Syria was unusual even for combat situations.
"We
are really quite shocked. Killing and maiming of children in cross-fire
is something we come across in many conflicts but this torture of
children in detention, children as young as 10, is something quite
extraordinary, which we don't really see in other places."
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