Syria Accused of Using Children as Human Shields

U.N. investigators say Syrian troops are armoring their vehicles with children in order to deter enemy fire. A report on children and armed conflict also says Syrian authorities are torturing children and the opposition may be recruiting minors.

BBC:

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.

[...] “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.”

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—Posted by Peter Z. Scheer