UNICEF: More and more children are being recruited in Mali

UNICEF said it has reports that armed groups in northern Mali are increasingly recruiting children in violation of international law.

UNICEF spokeswoman Mariksi Merkao said in Geneva that the number of recruited children is increasing and that armed groups have included 175 boys in their ranks since July.

According to her, the recruitment of children under the age of 18 is contrary to international regulations, and in Mali, children under the age of 15 have also been used to commit war crimes.

Islamists in Mali suppressed the Tuareg rebel group in June, who, after the overthrow of the former government of Mali, occupied half of the country's territory.

Islamists are now trying to impose the strictest Islamic law, according to the Associated Press agency.