Hawzah News Agency-Unicef report says 3.6 million children face risks including death or sexual violence, and 4.7 million need humanitarian aid as a result of the conflict

One in every five children in Iraq is at serious risk of death, injury, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups, while nearly 1,500 have been snatched from the streets or their homes since 2014, says a new report.

 “Children in Iraq are in the firing line and are being repeatedly and relentlessly targeted,” says Peter Hawkins, the agency’s representative in Iraq.

“We appeal to all parties for restraint and to respect and protect children. We must help give children the support they need to recover from the horrors of war and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous Iraq.”

Unicef says it has documented 838 child deaths since 2014, and 794 injuries, but it says the true number is probably much higher. It has also verified the abduction of 1,496 children – on average 50 every month – since the beginning of 2014.

“The kidnapping of children from their homes, their schools and from the streets is horrifying,” said Hawkins. “These children are being ripped from their families and are subjected to sickening abuses and exploitation.”

The report says abducted girls are most at risk of sexual abuse, particularly those from religious and ethnic communities.

Another threat to children is thousands of mines, scattered across the country. The report says that in Diyala, east of Baghdad, security forces disarmed at least 18 explosives hidden in dolls along a route used by families fleeing the fighting.

Aside from ever-present physical danger, children are facing devastating psychological trauma with lifelong consequences, Unicef says.

Because so many families have lost their livelihoods, more and more children are being sent to work, or get married early. Unicef says currently around 975,000 girls in Iraq are married before the age of 15 – twice as many as in 1990 – while 575,000 children are estimated to be working – again double the number in 1990.

Nearly one in five schools is out of use due to conflict and almost 3.5 million children of school-age are missing out on an education, it adds.