
BUJUMBURA, Burundi, May 7 (UPI) -- A recent surge in violence between rebel groups and the Burundi government has prompted calls for the release of children recruited to fight in the conflict.
The U.N. secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, is calling for the release of an estimated 500 children who have been recruited by the rebel group Palipehutu-FNL of Agathon Rwasa.
Coomaraswamy says the recent surge in fighting, despite a comprehensive cease-fire agreement signed in 2006, has created an urgent situation that is specifically endangering children, the United Nations reported.
"The outbreak of renewed fighting by the Palipehutu-FNL of Agathon Rwasa proves once again the need to quickly separate all children from fighting forces even before a final peace agreement is signed," Coomaraswamy said in a news release.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Special Reports Stories | |
PORTLAND, Ore., May 25 (UPI) --
Police said Friday they found the woman who apparently abandoned her three children, ages 1-3, with a group of homeless people in a shed in Portland, Ore.
|
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 25 (UPI) --
Arthel "Doc" Watson is hospitalized in critical condition after a fall at his North Carolina home, the 89-year-old folk musician's family said.
|
NICOSIA, Cyprus, May 25 (UPI) --
Turkey says waters off the coast of war-divided Cyprus where Greek Cypriots plan to explore for natural gas lie within its continental shelf, sharpening multi-sided disputes over major fields under the eastern Mediterranean.
|
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., May 25 (UPI) --
Police in Florida said a man allegedly pointed a gun at three women so they would let him cut in at a McDonald's drive-through lane.
|
View Caption